Celestial Dragon
by Laguna1
Summary: Battles and sabotage are two common things in Neron Continent. When all seems hopeless for the rebels, a traveller, Duncan Skywalker shows up... (based on FF7)
1. Celestial Dragon part 1

**_CELESTIAL DRAGON_**

by _Laguna

* * *

Prologue

**_Layoka City, Neron Continent  
_**The city of Lakoya was a city with towering skyscrapers, apartment buildings, offices, everything a modern metropole should have. The city stood amidst the green vegetation, reflecting the light in every direction. But this city wasn't like any other. This one had defenses in the form of cannons. Lakoya City was bordered by a high wall with thick metal doors at regular intervals, all in the same shining metal alloy.  
In the city's command center, the commander turned away from the main screen. On it, a small army rushed towards them through the grassy fields. Red Alert lights flashed, casting the command center in an eerie red glow.  
« God, they're attacking again. »  
« Shall I initiate countermeasures ? » one of the sergeants asked.  
« Do that. »  
The sergeant saluted and headed out of the command center.  
Lakoya City had endured a great number of attacks, each warded off successfully. The rebels that were attacking were members of the Dyenso Resistance Faction. The city's residents were often forced to take shelter in the bunkers underneath the city.  
The rebels didn't want to give up their homes for a more comfortable life in the city. They said that this was the land of the Celestial Dragon and that this creature would destroy all who would destroy its land.  
Everyone had dismissed this tale as gibberish, nonsense. The villagers didn't like this and started a resistance faction.  
He turned back to the screen. On it, the rebels were driven back by the city's militia.  
Another attack ground to dust he said to himself.  
« Power up the Ki Ray. »  
All the center's personnel stared at him.  
« Sir, are you certain you want to use that weapon ? » someone asked.  
The commander turned away from the main screen and gave him a hard look.  
« I gave an order and I don't want to be disobeyed, do you hear me !? Or I'll have you all court-martialed ! »  
The personnel turned back to their stations and brought the Ki Ray on-line.

Outside, the barrel of a big cannon placed on the city's highest tower turned and aligned itself with the battling figures below in the fields. Lights pulsated, energy levels rose while the city's light advertising boards, window lights, public transportation systems powered down and the resulting power was redirected to the Ki Ray. The cannon powered itself up for the final blow that would end this fight.  
A command was given and the city's militia rushed back inside while end of the barrel of the cannon began to pulsate. Then, when it had accumulated enough energy, the cannon fired its single shot. A pulse of white-hot blue energy shot down and let the ground explode in a fiery storm of sharp rock splinters. Rocks flew everywhere as the rebels dragged their wounded comrades to safety in the forest.

Inside, the commander grinned as the screen cleared from the blast the Ki Ray had produced. On the screen he could see a smoking crater and the rebels dragging their comrades to safety.  
« That'll teach em. » he murmured.  
The command center's personnel applauded for another job well-done. The commander acknowledged it with a nod.  
« Stand down Red Alert. » he ordered.  
The red flashing lights went out and the normal lights brightened.  
He pressed a button. « Attention, the attack has been warded off. It's safe to come out. I repeat : the attack has been warded off. »  
He released the button and went out to get some rest while the residents came out of the shelters.

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Talinn, the daughter of the Village Chief paced the rebel camp impatiently.  
She wore black pants with a red t-shirt and a crossbow on her back. She was an attractive woman and most of the rebel camp's men had an eye for her. But she had only an eye for Ringo, the village's best warrior. They were lovers and soon, they would marry.  
She looked up as the rebels who had gone out to fight, returned.  
« God, what happened ? » she asked as she saw the wounded.  
« They used that ray cannon again. » the Village Chief, Boras said. Everyone called him Chief'. And that suited him just fine.  
She searched desperately for her lover among the wounded but, to her relief, he wasn't one of them.  
He came last. Talinn ran to him and embraced the one she loved.  
« I was so worried. »  
« You had every right to be worried. » Ringo replied. « If I would've been among the wounded ... »  
« Then I would've taken care of you. » she finished for him.  
He gave her a comforting smile and went to the Chief.  
« So what do we do now ? »  
« We blow the reactor that's near the city's perimeter. »  
« What ? » both Talinn and Ringo asked.  
« This has been going on for too long. That city has to go. We're gonna see to it, » the Chief's face sombered as he finished what he was saying. « or die trying. »  
« That's crazy. » Talinn retorted. « We'll lose more able fighters. »  
« Not if we're careful and plan our every move. »  
« Foolishness. » Ringo said. « We'll all be blown to pieces by that ray. »  
Meanwhile, the village women had begun to tend to the wounded. Most of them were severely injured by the Ki Ray blast.  
« If we can disable the reactor closest to the perimeter we won't have to worry about that cannon anymore. » the Chief replied.  
« How come ? » Talinn asked.  
« Before I joined the resistance, I used to work there. The reactor provides the cannon at the top of the city its power. If we disable the reactor, the cannon will be as good as useless. For all I care, they could use it to swat flies. » the Chief laughed.  
Talinn changed the subject. « By the way, how many casualties are there today ? »  
The Chief seemed reluctant to share the information. « That's not important. »  
« How many ? » she pressed.  
« Look, I don't see what ... »  
« HOW MANY ? »  
« Twenty four. We lost twenty four warriors. »  
Talinn sunk to her knees. « God, twenty four able-bodied warriors gone. »  
Ringo kneeled beside her and held her close.  
« Chief, » Ringo said. « this is madness. Why don't we try to settle this peacefully ? With negotiations ? »  
« NO ! » he cried. « We've come too far. This'll only end in battle. There's no other way. »  
« Then we'll be wiped out. » Talinn muttered.  
The Chief went back to the wounded to check who still could put up a fight. Ringo took Talinn to her cabin.  
« Raoul, you feeling all right ? »  
« Pretty shaken, but I'll manage. » Raoul replied while shaking his head. He had a few scratches and some bruises.  
« Good, get ready for another mission soon. »  
« Will do, Chief. »  
He moved to the next. « Wilfred ? »  
« No can do, Chief. I got a broken leg. »  
« Okay, you take it easy for a while. Jeb ? »  
Jeb only had minor injuries. « Chief ? »  
« You ready for another one ? »  
« Sure Chief. Whatever you say. »  
« Good lad. Stay alert. »  
By the end of the day, the Chief had rounded up some eleven men. All were present in the Chief's war room.  
« What's the plan Chief ? » Jeb asked.  
« All right everyone, listen up. Our target is the city reactor close to the perimeter. There's a back door inside. The guards switch every two hours so we'll have to be fast. We, the guardians of the Celestial Dragon, will get rid of this city. Even if it involves dying for this cause. Long live the Celestial Dragon ! »  
« Long live the Celestial Dragon ! » echoed through the room as the men repeated the Chief's last line.

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**In the middle of the night, twelve silhouettes, including the Chief, crawled to the back door leading to the reactor. The lead figure held up his hand and the rebels stopped. He pointed forward to two figures near a partially opened metal door. The guards diappeared through another door. The Chief motioned for his companions to follow him and ran into the corridor beyond the half-opened door.  
Once inside, everyone took their weapons.  
« All right, keep your eyes open. » the Chief ordered his men. Then, he took the lead.  
They proceeded deeper into the city, corridor by corridor. The guards they encountered were harshly dealt with.  
After ten minutes, they arrived at the massive reactor. Through the small window, swirling energies were visible.  
« Okay guys, keep an eye out. » the Chief ordered. « Jeb, set the charge. »  
Jeb walked to the reactor and placed an explosive device against the cool metal that formed the reactor. Then he set the timer.  
« How long ? » Jeb asked.  
« Ten minutes. » the Chief said without taking his eyes off the corridor he was guarding. The reactor stood in the middle of a web of corridors, all converging on this reactor. On it,a big 5' was painted high above their heads.  
Jeb set the timer.  
« That's it. Let's roll. »  
The rebels ran into the corridor they had taken to get at the reactor. Now they ran in the opposite direction to the back door.  
When they arrived there, eight minutes later, Raoul poked his head out the door frame. « No guards. »  
« Let's go. » the Chief said and ran into the grassy fields to the safety of the forest.  
Two minutes thereafter, the reactor exploded. The city lights, the light advertising boards weakened and the public transportation systems rolled slower due to the excessive amount of power that had suddenly disappeared.

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**The rebels ran into the village, out of breath.  
Talinn came out of her cabin when she heard the thunderous explosion coming from the city.  
« How did it go ? » she asked.  
« Worked like a charm. » Jeb replied. « Boom ! »  
In the distance, even in the night, they could see black smoke rise up. Sirens wailed.  
She went back to her cabin.  
_Madness. It's just plain madness, just like Ringo said. Why don't we try to settle it in a peaceful way ? Isn't there anyone out there who'll help us ?_

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**In the command center, all was quiet. Most of the systems were on stand-by while others continued to function, such as the power generation system.  
But then a shudder ran through the center as the reactor the rebels had wired, exploded. Red Alert lights flashed as the crew sprang into action.  
The commander ran into the center.  
« What the hell happened ? »  
« Someone blew up the nr 5 reactor. The transport systems are running on half power output. » a technician replied.  
He turned to face the main screen.  
« Those rebels again. It must be them. There's no other explanation. Won't they ever learn ? »  
He turned back to the crew. « What else is there ? »  
« The resulting explosion totally destroyed the nr 5 reactor. Wel lost four house blocks and the Ki Ray is off line. »  
The commander rammed his fist on the nearest console in frustration.

* * *

I

**_Somewhere in the woods, Neron Continent  
_**Neron Continent was covered with dense foliage, large forests and small villages among them. There were woods as far as the eye could see. Through those woods, trails snaked towards distant destinations, depending on what direction a traveller came from.  
One such traveller was Duncan Skywalker. He wore a white t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans with a red belt, black boots and a long black coat. His hair was somewhat unruly which made a few locks fall across his eyes. Not that it bothered him in fact he didn't seem to notice it. A scar travelled from his ear to his jaw on his right cheek.  
Around the ring finger of his right hand, he wore a gold ring. And an identical one around his neck, dangling on a piece of string a last memento of his wife, Charlene. She died in a car accident. A drunken driver had hit her from behind, then drove on. Hit-and-run felony. Luckily, he had been around when it happened. He had seen it with his own two eyes. Skywalker had rushed over and taken his beloved wife to hospital. But the had tide turned against him. That day, it was April 1, also known as April Fools Day'. The doctors there thought it was a hoax, that he was trying to fool them.  
« This is real. My wife's dying. » he had said. But the docs were too caught up in believing it was a joke so they just sat there and laughed.  
Then his wife, whom he had laid down on a bench, called out for him. He let the infidels laugh all they wanted and went to his wife's side.  
« It's too late. » she had said in a whipser.  
« It's not too late, they may be able to do something if they would stop laughing, that is. » Duncan had replied.  
« No, nothing can help now. » she had whispered and gave him her ring. « Take my ring and never forget me. »  
Then she spoke her final words. « Together forever. »  
« Together forever. » he had echoed. Then, all life left her.  
The docs had then decided to come and take a look.  
Tormented by his wife's death, Skywalker had lunged out at the nearest physician and hit him square in the face. Then, he gave them both a hard, hate-filled look with only one sentence that went along with it : « You morons just killed my wife. »  
Both docs recoiled when they saw the pain and hate in his eyes.   
Duncan then had taken his wife's lifeless form in his arms and walked out of the hospital. Every plant and flower he passed let its leaves and flower buds hang in a gesture of mourning and sympathy. That was the moment that his bond' with Mother Nature had increased by a very high degree. It also changed him physically. His once blue eyes which Charlene liked to gaze in so much had transformed from blue into ice cold light blue.  
When he had arrived at the tree that stood near their house at the coast cliffs, he gave her the proper burial she deserved.  
The physician he had slugged in the jaw was subsequently fired, the other died of a heart attack the next day.  
Duncan had actually grinned when he found out about the doctors.  
He stopped and took his wife's ring in his hand, remembering her. _I wouldn't be here if you were still alive, Charlie_. Charlie' was his favourite pet name for her. She always liked it when he used to call her that way.  
_But hey, those jerks got what they deserved. One more than the other, heheheh.  
_He let the ring dangle on the piece of string and continued on his journey.  
Five minutes later, he found a bird-of-prey, a falcon, lying on the ground. It's wing scarred and bloodied.  
« What happened to you ? » he asked while bending down and trying to pick the wounded creature up. « Fighting with the local cat ? »  
The bird was a young one, but a feisty one. It kept lunging out for his hands when they came too close for comfort. He decided to try a different approach. Duncan waited till the bird settled down. Then he lunged out with a lightning-swift motion of his arm and caught the bird by the neck just below the head, immobilizing it. He tied the bird's beak together so it couldn't do any more damage. Then, he examined the wounded wing.  
« It's not that bad. » he said. Skywalker took his medicine bundle and started to treat the bird's wing.  
When he first arrived in the Eastern Regions after long journeys in the West, North and South, the first thing he had learned from the Shaolins was Eastern medicine. They said that Eastern medicine was far better than Western medicine. That, he believed with all his heart, for Western medicine had caused his wife's life to end.  
Skywalker finished his treatment, untied the bird's beak and stepped back. The falcon hissed at him, then it turned and after a few failed attempts, it took off. Duncan stared after it. _So long, pal. You just got a ticket to a longer life.  
_Then he resumed his journey.  
Thirty minutes later, he heard a cry for help.  
Acting on instinct, he placed his hand on the hilt of his long Daïkatana given to him by the Shaolin monks from which he had learned the martial arts of Shaolin and ran through the bushes.  
A bit further he saw three men trying to capture a boy. But the kid was giving them a hard time. He kept running around, making it hard for the men to catch him with their net. But then the kid tripped and sprained his ankle.  
« Hey ! » he called out. The four combatants stopped in their tracks and looked at him. « Pick on someone of your own size. »  
The three men charged towards him, the boy totally forgotten.  
Skywalker waited till the right time and punched the middle one in the face, making his head snap back. Then, he concentrated his efforts on the two others. The middle one would be out of commission for a while.  
The left one lunged out, Duncan ducked and let the attacking person fly over his back to deliver a teeth-rattling blow to the right one's jaw. The latter literally flew backwards while the boy took in everything with amazement. He had never seen anyone fight like that man in the long coat did. He crawled behind a nearby tree and continued to watch.  
The middle one had recovered and came at him. « You'll pay for that. »  
« Wanna bet ? » Duncan asked in reply and let his opponent spin around his central axis by delivering a roundhouse kick to the jaw. Instant KO.  
The two others executed a combined attack, but he took care of them with the same roundhouse he had used a moment before.  
Standing over the three unconscious men, he scanned the surroundings for the boy. He found him, hiding behind a tree.  
« You can come out now, they won't bother you anymore. »  
The boy crawled out of concealment, but warier as ever. « That was some fight. »  
« I know. Those were just leftovers. I've seen worse. »  
The boy came closer. Duncan lowered himself on one knee to talk to the boy at eye-level.  
« What were you doing out here ? »  
« Just having fun, that's all. » the boy replied.  
« That ankle looks pretty bad. »  
« Yeah, it hurts a lot. »  
« Can I take a look at it ? » he asked. The boy took off his shoe. « Good thing you took it off now. If you hadn't, it would've swollen up and it would've hurt a lot more. »  
« How come you know so much, mister ? »  
« Well, I kept my eyes and ears open. And, by the way, mister is so formal. The name's Duncan Skywalker. »  
« Nicky. » the boy replied.  
« Well Nicky, we have to get to a village fast. It's going to be dark soon. » he said while looking up towards the darkening sky.  
« Dyenso Village is nearby. That's where I live. »  
« Okay then, let's go. » Skaywalker replied, placed the boy on his shoulder and diverted his journey to Dyenso Village.

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**The village had a fence made of long and thick wooden poles. On each side of the main gate stood a watchtower, overviewing the road that led to the village.  
Things were quiet. The guards in the tower were casually keeping an eye out. In the distance, Lakoya City was keeping a low profile.  
Except for a woman who kept running around the village asking : « Has anyone seen Nicky ? He should've been back by now. » She was worried sick.  
One of the guards scanned the road and saw a figure heading towards them. He elbowed his colleague and pointed towards the lone figure in the distance.  
« Who's that ? » the first asked.  
« How should I know ? I bet he's a Lakoyan. » the second said.  
« A Lakoyan ? Nonsense, Lakoyans wear gray uniforms and as far as I can see he ain't wearing a gray uniform. » the first pointed out.  
« Yeah, you're right. » the other admitted and squinted through the foliage. « It looks like he's dressed in black. »  
« Black ? » the first asked. « Maybe he's a Lakoyan after all. »  
« What do you mean ? »  
« Remember the rumors about the Lakoyans expanding their militia with new soldiers ? »  
« You mean the Jennai Soldiers ? They're just rumors. »  
« Maybe. But those guys dress in black and ... hey, it looks like someone's with him. »  
« You're right. It looks like little Nicky. »  
« Yep, that's Nicky all right. Boy, he's gonna be in a lot of trouble when his mom sees him. »  
The other turned and yelled at no one in particular that someone was coming.  
« Is it my Nicky ? » the worried woman asked.  
« Yep. Nicky too. »  
« Nicky too ? » the Chief asked. « Is there someone else ? »  
« Yeah. »  
« Open the gates. » the Chief ordered. The double gate opened just as Skywalker arrived.  
« Is this someone's kid ? » he asked.  
The worried woman ran through the crowd that had gathered and took her son in her arms.  
« Careful, his ankle's sprained. »  
« Young man, you are in a lot of trouble. » she said and went to her cabin.  
In the watchtower, the first guard said to the other: « I told you he'd be in a lot of trouble. »  
« That you did. » the other replied and continued to watch at what happened below their feet.  
« Thanks for saving our little Nicky. » the Chief said. « Where did you find him ? »  
« Just down the road. Some guys in gray tried to catch him with a net. But he kept dodging them. »  
The Chief and everyone else scowled.  
« Something wrong ? » Duncan asked.  
« No no, not at all. » the Chief replied and told him to come inside. « So what brings you here ? »  
« Just passing through. I've been travelling for a long time now and I was looking for a place to stay for a couple of days. »  
« Then you won't have to look any further. You can stay here. » the Chief said.  
« Thanks. » he replied and looked around. The villagers were all looking at him, a bit frightened by his icy blue eyes. But he sensed that their fear had a deeper meaning. Something told him that these people had gone through a lot. « Where can I stay ? »  
« There's a vacant cabin over there. » the Chief said and pointed to a small cabin next to Talinn's.  
« Dinner's tonight around the fire. » the Chief said.  
Skywalker nodded, went to the cabin and stepped inside.

* * *

II

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**In the meeting room, the command center's personnel gathered around the large table in the middle of the room.   
The commander sat at the head of the table. He had arranged this meeting to know the extent of the damage done by the reactor explosion.  
« We've lost four house blocks, the public transportation systems are running on 50% power, the Ki Ray is off line and the nr 5 reactor is totally destroyed. » a technician that went by the name of Sarge reported.  
« Any suggestions on how we can solve this problem ? » the commander asked.  
« We could take some power from the four other reactors and use it to fill up the energy gap the nr 5 reactor explosion has caused. » another techinican, Zugroff, suggested.  
« That would still leave the Ki Ray off line. » the commander replied. « However, it seems a good idea to use the tapped-off power from the four other reactors to power the public transport systems and the rest of the city. Do it. »  
Zugroff nodded and left to do his task.  
« That leaves us the matter of how to get the Ki Ray back on line. Suggestions anyone ? »  
« Maybe if we install a flywheel and ... » another technician said.  
« It's too much work and it'll rob us of valuable time. » the commander simply said. « I want to crush these rebels as soon as possible. »  
« What if we alter the reactor containment fields ? » someone suggested.  
« What ? That'll destroy the entire city. » someone else retorted.  
The commander cut him off by a wave of his hand. « What are you getting at ? »  
« It's really risky, sir. But what if we vary the strength of the containment fields to increase the magnitude of the delta waves ? »  
« What do you think ? » the commander asked the rest of the personnel.  
« It's possible. » someone said. « But then we'd have to keep a constant eye on the reactors to prevent them from exploding. »  
« Suppose it works, what effect will these containment field modifications have ? »  
« An increase in power output. »  
« Splendid, splendid. » the commander said and rubbed his hands. « Can you give me a percentage ? »  
« I'd estimate an increase in power output of at least 40%. »  
« 40% ? Good, good. Begin the experiments. » he ordered and ended the meeting.

**_Reactor 2, Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**A team of six technicians were working on the reactor's containment field.  
« _Containment field systems are on line_. » echoed the computer's voice through the room. The control panels lit up, ready for new parameters.  
« Begin containment field modifications. » Sarge ordered. The crew began to work.  
Varying the strength of the containment field was a tricky business. They had to keep an eye on the power level to prevent the reactor from rupturing.  
First, they lowered power production. Then, they varied the strength of the containment field to see which modification was the most suitable.  
After two hours, everything was ready for the first try.  
Sarge pressed a comm switch. « Command, this is Tech Crew Four at Reactor Two. Ready for experiment. »  
« _Acknowledged. Stand-by_. » the commander replied.  
« Ready when you are, sir. »  
« _All right, we're all set here. Power up the reactor._ »  
« Aye sir. » he replied and ended communications. « Bring the reactor to full power. »  
The crew brought the reactor to full power.  
« Initiate containment field modifications. »  
The containment field confining the deta waves sizzled a bit as it altered its force.  
An alarm sounded.  
« There's a micro fracture in the core. » a technician said.  
« Compensating. » another replied and five minutes thereafter : « Micro fracture closed. »  
Sarge wiped the sweat off his forehead. For a moment, he thought they would be blown to bits.  
But then, another alarm wailed.  
« We're losing delta wave containment ! » a technician yelled.  
« Compensate. » Sarge snapped back.  
« I can't. It's building. »  
« Command, Tech Crew Four here. We have a situation here. The reactor is about to blow. Containment field modifications have failed. » he said after punching the comm button.  
« _Can you stop it ?_ » the commander asked.  
Sarge looked at his crew who shook their heads.  
« Negative. »  
« _Get out of there. We'll set up force fields to contain the blast_. »  
« Acknowledged Command. Tech Crew Four out. »  
He released the button and turned to his men. « Everybody out ! It's gonna blow. Command will set up force fields once we're out. So move it, people. »  
The crew ran out of the reactor complex. When they cleared the building of the nr 2 reactor, force fields leapt in place behind them. Then, the reactor tore itself apart.

**_Command center, Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**When Tech Crew Four returned, they found out that the commander had assembled another meeting. They quickly took their seats and the meeting began.  
« Okay, so varying the strength of the containment fields isn't an option anymore. » the commander said.  
« The question then is : what options do we have left ? » Sarge asked.  
« My point exactly. » the commander replied. « We've lost two reactors now. We have to find an alternate energy source or we'll get complaints from the city population. »  
« The public transport systems are down due to the energy surge the nr 2 reactor explosion has caused. But the nr 2 reactor can be repaired. The damage is largely superficial. They were well-built. » another technician said.  
« Take the power from the advertising boards to power the transport systems. We have to keep that system on line at all cost. But there's still the matter of the Ki Ray. » the commander said.  
« There may be another energy source, sir. » an attending scientist suggested.  
« Really ? What source ? » the commander asked.  
« Have you ever heard of the energy stream that brings life to the planet ? »  
« No, I haven't. » he replied and scanned the assembled personnel. They too had no clue to what their colleague the scientist was getting at. « Well, you have our undivided attention. »  
« This energy stream is called the Lifestream. If we can alter the reactors to absorb and process this energy, we can raise the energy output by a factor of two. Twice as much when all our reactors were producing at top performance. »  
The commander whistled in amazement. « Get your people on it. »

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Later that evening, Duncan stepped out of his cabin and sniffed the evening air. He looked around overlooking the dimly lit village. The center of the village was being illuminated by a big fire. The village population sat around it.  
The Chief motioned for him to join them. He walked over and sat down between Talinn and the Chief.  
« You didn't have to bring any weapons. » the Chief said while pointing to his Daïkatana.  
« That sword goes where I go. » Skywalker replied flatly.  
« Okay okay. Don't get all tensed up. Just pointing something out. »  
Skywalker took a slice of fruit from a nearby bowl.  
« So what brings you here to Neron continent ? » Talinn asked.  
« Just passing through as I told you before. I've travelled all over the world, seen many wonders of Mother Nature, learned a lot. And now I was looking for a place to stay for a couple of days. »  
« But there must be something else. Something with a deeper meaning. » she prodded.  
« Who were those guys in the gray uniforms ? » he asked, changing the subject. Talinn wasn't happy about that.  
« Those were Lakoyans. You said you found three of them when they tried to capture Nicky, right ? » the Chief pointed out.  
« I did. »  
« They probably wanted to use him as a hostage and demand that we surrender, no doubt. »  
« What's this all about ? »  
« This doens't concern you. It's a fight we have to fight for ourselves. »  
« Tell me anyway. »  
« Those Lakoyans have taken in the habitat of the Celestial Dragon. Their city stands directly on top of the place. Already all life is decaying in the area. »  
When he heard about the decay, he looked up.  
« Is something wrong ? »  
« This decay ... is everything dying there ? The trees, grass, flowers, ... everything ? »  
« Unfortunately yes. » Talinn cut in.  
« Then it is my concern. »  
« How come ? » Nicky asked curiously.  
« I ... it's hard for me to explain, but have you people ever heard of the Great Natural Reformation ? »  
« I have. » Talinn said. « The natural resources and plant life was suddenly returned to a dead patch of land of some 500 acres. »  
« I took part in it. »  
« WHAAT ? » everyone present gaped at him.  
« I care for Mother Nature. So if there're trees and grassy fields dying out there it's my job to restore it. »  
« Fascinating. » the Chief said.  
Talinn sat next to Duncan, daydreaming. The Chief saw the ring on Skywalker's right hand and leaned back. Talinn saw what he was doing an did the same. The Chief mouthed only three words : _he is married_.  
_Oh rats_ Talinn thought and the daydream was shattered.  
« How's the wife doing ? » the Chief asked.  
Skywalker looked at the Chief with his ice cold blue eyes. « How do you know I'm maried ? »  
The Chief said nothing he just pointed to his ring.  
Duncan lowered his head and closed his eyes. His demeanor changed totally.  
Did I say something ? the chief wondered.  
« I ... it's ... too personal. » he said while squeezing his hands into fists. « Maybe I'll tell you when the time's right. »  
« Of course you will. » Talinn said and laid her head on his shoulder. Duncan had to exercise total restraint not to put an arm around her. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Ringo wasn't very pleased with what Talinn was doing.  
« If you'll excuse me. I'm going to bed. » he said, got up and went to his cabin.  
Later that evening, Talinn went for a stroll through the village. Most of the villagers had gone back to their cabins to rest on their porches. They greeted her as she passed their spot she did the same, sensing there was unity in the village.  
_Why did he evade my question if there was a deeper meaning to him travelling the world ? And why did he close up when the Chief asked him about his wife ?_ she wondered while passing the remains of the big fire where they had their meals.  
_I'm gonna find out _she thought and took a detour to Skywalker's cabin.  
When she arrived at Duncan's cabin she saw that the door was partially open. Intrigued, she poked her head around the door.  
No one inside.  
_Where the hell did he go ?  
_The roof groaned. Talinn went back outside, put some distance between herself and the cabin and looked up. On the roof, Duncan sat, gazing up at the stars while playing with the gold ring on the ring finger of his right hand.  
Talinn leapt up, grabbed the ledge and hauled herself up on the roof.  
« You mind if I join you ? » she asked.  
« No. » Duncan replied without taking his eyes off the starry sky.  
She sat down beside him, feet dangling over the edge.  
« Nice night. » she said, trying to break the ice.  
« One of the most beautiful I've ever seen. » he replied, then looked beside him right into Talinn's eyes. Somehow, she saw that there was an unexplainable sense of ... pain and loss in those ice cold eyes of his.  
« You wanna talk about it ? »  
« About what ? »  
« Come on, Duncan, it's obvious. Something is troubling you. It's your wife, is it not ? You left her to go on a journey around the world ? »  
He closed his eyes. A single tear ran down and into the scar that ravaged his right cheek. « I didn't leave her. »  
« You didn't ? »  
« No. »  
« What happened ? »  
Skywalker decided it was time to open up and tell the tragic tale. « Once, I was the happiest man alive. All the men in my village of birth envied me, because I was married to the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Love at first sight. »  
He showed her Charlene's picture he always kept with him.  
« She's beautiful. » Talinn observed.  
« That she was. Charlene Tremaine. From the moment I saw her, we both knew we'd get married. Six months later, we did. »  
Talinn listened with interest. But she didn't see Ringo spying on them from behind a tree.  
« But then, after years of bliss, she died in a car accident. A drunken driver had hit her from behind and drove on. I took her to the local hospital telling her that everything would work out. She was still alive at that time. But then... »  
« Then what ? » Talinn asked. She noticed that he had squeezed his hands into fists.  
« Do you know what day it was back then ? »  
« No, I don't. »  
« April 1. April fucking Fool's Day. The so-called doctors sat there and laughed, thinking I was trying to set them up. »  
« Go on. » she prodded.  
He opened his eyes and stared in front of him, reliving everything. « They didn't listen to reason. Charlene called me and I knelt by her side. Then she told me it was too late. Nothing could help anymore. She gave me her ring and spoke her final words : Together forever'. Then, those morons showed up. I hit the nearest clear in the face and gave them the hardest and most hate-filled look I could come up with. The one I had hit in the face was fired, the other died of a heart attack. »  
He actually _grinned_ at that, Talinn noticed. _Is he some kind of homicidal killer ?_ « Then what ? »  
« I took her to our house near the coast cliffs and buried her under a big oak tree at the top of the cliffs, overviewing the sea. She liked the sea. Then, after 2 weeks I decided to go on a journey around the world. »  
« Can I see the ring ? »  
He gave her a look that had a what are you, crazy ?'-message in it. But all he saw was curiosity. He took the ring in his hand and untied it from the piece of string and gave it to Talinn who closely inspected it.  
It was just a simple gold ring. But on the inside stood only two words : _Together Forever_.  
She gave him the ring back. « I'm so sorry. »  
« Don't be. The bastards got what they deserved. »  
« Well I'm going to bed. » Talinn said. « G'night. »  
« Night. »  
She leapt down, leaving Skywalker alone with his thoughts and the stars.

* * *

  
III

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**The next day, the commander pressed the intercom button. « This is Command calling Tech Crew 2. Status ? »  
« _We're completing the modifications on the nr 2 reactor, sir._ » the head technician of TC2, Londo, reported.  
« Good. Keep me informed. »  
« _Will do sir. TC2 out._ »  
The link was severed. The entire command crew was holding its collective breath. If they lost another reactor it would be catastrophical. Tech Crew 2 was busy modifying the nr 2 reactor after making repairs. The blast that had destroyed the reactor's systems hadn't been that big, but big enough to dislodge most of the reactor support structures so the entire assembly could collapse at any time. TC2 had first supported the reactor assembly and repaired it. Then, they took care of the systems. After that, they modified the entire reactor to absorb and process Lifestream energy.  
The intercom beeped. The commander walked over to the panel and pressed the comm button. « Yes ? »  
« _We've completed the modifications, sir. We're ready to switch on the reactor._ »  
« Turn it on. » he said and released the button and faced the command center's personnel. « Okay people, keep em crossed. »

**_Reactor 2, Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**Londo turned to his colleagues. « Turn on the reactor and may the gods have mercy on us. »  
The technician standing on his left flipped a switch. The reactor hummed and began to sputter. They all backed away Londo had his hand hovering over the control that would erect force fields to protect them.  
Then, the reactor room was filled with the whine of power generators working and absorbing energy from the planet. The modifications had worked. Through the window built in the reactor assembly they saw once again bright, swirling energies. Londo carefully upped the power processing of the reactor. And, as if behaving, the reactor began to process more energy.  
TC2 cheered as Londo pressed the comm control.

**_Command center, Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**The intercom beeped again. Everyone looked up as the beeping sound echoed through the command center. The commander walked over and pressed the switch. « Yes ? »  
« _We struck paydirt down here, sir. It's working._ » Londo reported.  
« Say what ? »  
« _The modifictions work, sir. The reactor is absorbing energy from the planet._ »  
« Yessss. Good work. » he released the button and turned to his personnel. « We did it. The nr 2 reactor is back on line and absorbing Lifestream energy. »  
The personnel cheered.  
« This calls for a celebration. Finally I have the Ki Ray back to full power. »A bottle of wine was uncorked, the cork bounced all over the command center and crashed somewhere against a computer screen while the command center personnel had a little celebration party.  
But then, three guards came in.  
« Sorry to crash the party, but we have some news. » the middle one said.  
« What happened to you three ? » the commander asked, eyeing the battered and bloodied men.  
« We were trying to catch a rebel boy so we could use him to get the other rebels to dismantle their band. »  
« Good plan. » the commander said approvingly. « But then... ? »  
« But then, some guy in a long black coat showed up and kicked our asses real good. I haven't seen anyone fight like he does. And he had this weird look in his eyes... »  
« What do you mean ? »  
« He had these ... blue eyes... no not blue, ice cold blue. It gave me the shivers. Who knows where he came from. »  
« If you run into this stranger again try to capture him. I want to see him with my own eyes. But I want him alive. »  
« As you wish, sir. » The three saluted and headed out the door.  
The commander permitted himself a small smile. But then, it faded as someone yelled : « Commander ! The fields ! »  
He ran to the man's side and looked outside at the fields. Around the city, the grassy fields were shriveling and dying, placing the city in the middle of a patch of dead land.

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Skywalker woke up and yawned. He sat up and scratched his head. Then he got up and splashed some ice cold water on his face. _That feels great. Sure makes someone wake up._ He took his Daïkatana and put it in the sheath on his belt. After that was done, he went out.  
As he came out, he went for a stroll, seeing the village at daylight. He arrived at a high tree. Duncan stopped and looked up. _Hmmm. Probably some 100, maybe 150 years old given its height._ This tree was the highest within the village boundaries. _Why can't life be as simple as a tree. Simple and straightforward. No. Instead of simple and straightforward, it has to be complex and world-shattering.  
_Talinn stopped beside him. « Hi there. »  
« Hi. » he replied, still looking up.  
« That's the Tree'. » she said, also looking up.  
« The Tree' ? »  
« Uh-huh. No one has ever been able to climb it. Except Ringo, he made it half-way. He was totally exhausted when he came back down. Even from half-way, you have a splendid view of the surrounding area. »  
« Half-way you say ? » he asked with a smirk.  
« Yeah. Can you do better ? »  
« Better ? Hah, watch me. »  
Talinn saw Duncan leap up and climb the tree with the agility of a monkey and disappear in the dense foliage.  
_I hope he knows what he's doing_ she thought as she heard the ristling of leaves while Skywalker climbed the tree. After two minutes, he poked his head out of the foliage near the top.  
« I don't believe it. He made it. » she said to herself. Then she yelled at no one in particular : « Hey everyone, Duncan climbed the Tree' ! All the way to the top ! »  
The villagers gathered while Duncan surveyed the coutryside.  
From his spot near the top of the tree, he looked around. His eyes came to rest on a shining city in the distance. _That must be Lakoya City. Looks like the Chief wasn't lying about the decay.  
_But then he felt something deep inside. Something that meant trouble. He looked again at the city's boundaries where an expanding circle of death and decay began to spread out.  
_They... they're tapping into the Lifestream. The idiots ! They have no idea what they're getting themselves into.  
_He muttered « Shit shit shit. » while sliding back down.

The villagers that had gathered applauded as he climbed out of the tree. Some of them congratulated him.  
Instead, he turned to Talinn. « This is bad. Real bad. »  
« What is ? » she asked.  
« The Lakoyans are tapping into the Lifestream. »  
« What's that ? »  
« The Lifestream is a stream of energy that brings life to the planet. The Lakoyans are using it to power their city. If they continue to suck up more energy this entire forest will be gone. »  
« What ? Then we have to stop them. »  
« Yes, I agree. But how ? »  
From behind a tree, Ringo still kept an eye on them.  
« We could execute an all-out assault on the city » Talinn suggested.  
« No, that would result in the loss of innocent life. We have to do this with as little casualties as possible. » Duncan replied.  
The Chief came to stand beside Talinn. « What's going on ? »  
Talinn informed him. « Duncan has climbed all the way to the top of the tree. There he saw that the Lakoyans are tapping into something called the Lifestream', some kind of energy flow that brings life to the planet. Now, we're trying to find out how we're gonna stop them with minimum casualties. »  
« What ? I say we whack and whack em good. » the Chief said.  
« Then count me out. » Skywalker replied.  
« Why ? » the Chief asked.  
« Because I don't believe in needless killing. Going for an all-out assault will kill many innocent bystanders. »  
« Hmmm. Point well taken. » the Chief said. « How do you suggest we proceed ? »  
« Why don't we try to talk to them first. If that doesn't work, we can go for a sabotage attempt. »  
Talinn and the Chief exchanged a look that read makes sense to me'.  
« All right. Tomorrow, we try to negotiate with them first. »  
The Chief and Talinn moved off. Duncan let out a sigh of relief. But then he heard another voice call out : « OUTSIDER ! » It was Ringo.  
He turned to face him. « You called ? »  
« I'll do more than that. » Ringo said and lunged out with his sword. The blade sliced nothing but air as Duncan sidestepped the blow.  
« Ringo, get a grip. What's gotten into you ? »  
« You ! I noticed the two of you yesterday on the roof of the cabin, talking like two lovers. And today, under the Tree'. I know you're trying to make a move to seduce her. » Ringo snarled while pointing the blade at Skywalker.  
« Bullshit ! » Duncan protested. « I'm not out to seduce her. I know you care for her, so I'm not making any moves whatsoever. »  
« Enough of the lies, outsider. Draw your weapon and let's settle this like men. »  
Duncan saw in Ringo's eyes that he meant business. He drew his katana, reversed it so it pointed upward along his arm and stepped back.  
« I have to warn you, Ringo. This sword is extremely sharp. I don't want to see you get hurt or lose a bodypart. »  
Ringo snarled and lunged out once again. Duncan brought his arm parallell with his sword up and deflected the blow.  
« Look, Ringo, I'm not after Talinn. » Skywalker said as he warded off another attack.  
« Lies. All lies ! » Ringo cried. He attacked again, raising the sword above his head to deliver a two-handed blow.  
Skywalker sidestepped once again as the murderous sword blow came down and hit the ground. But Ringo didn't give up. He kept lunging out and Duncan kept evading and defending. Ringo thought he was on a winning roll, but that changed as Duncan's eyes became as hard as stone. He then reversed the katana so he held it in front of him.  
Ringo attacked again. He wasn't afraid of a pair of cold eyes. He brought his sword up again to slice his opponent in two.  
But then the tide turned. Ringo watched as Duncan charged towards him with the air of a fighter. Ringo decided to do the same. He roared and charged ahead. Both fighters passed each other while the sound of metal hitting metal echoed through the air. Both combatants stopped a bit further from each other, standing motionless for several seconds.  
Then, Skywalker turned to face Ringo who slowly turned while staring at his sword. Half of it was gone. Neatly sliced off. He looked around and his amazed eyes came to rest on the upper part of his blade, sticking up in the ground.  
« I told you it was sharp. »  
Ringo's demeanor changed. « Silence ! I'll be watching your every move outsider. Be sure of that. »  
Duncan stared after Ringo as he went to the blacksmith to get a new sword.  
_When will he ever learn ?_ Duncan wondered as he went to his cabin where he remained till the evening.


	2. part 2

IV

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**As the evening fell, Duncan sat on the roof of his cabin again, playing on a small wooden flute. Some of the villagers gathered and listened.  
Skywalker didn't pay much attention to them and kept playing. The tune was simple, but it had a sad undertone. The villagers that had gathered were being mesmerized by it. It was as if they felt the same pain and emptiness he felt.  
Talinn came out of her cabin, partly curious about the music. She turned and saw him sitting on the roof of his cabin, playing on a small flute.  
_That is so sad_ she thought as she listened. She leapt up, grabbed the ledge and hauled herself up the roof.  
« Hey. » she said as a way of greeting.  
Duncan stopped playing. The gathered villagers muttered their protest and moved off.  
« Hey. » he replied as he looked over his shoulder at her, then turned back to the stars coming out of the light of the setting sun.  
« That song what was it ? »  
« A small modification of Charlene's favorite. _Watch Over Me_'. »  
« Tell me more about her. » Talinn said as she sat down beside him.  
« I don't think that's a good idea. »  
« Why not ? »  
« Well, after you and the Chief left Ringo came to me and attacked me for no apparent reason. He said he had seen us talking and that I was trying to seduce you. »  
« You ? Seduce me ? Come on. »  
Skywalker's gaze didn't change « He was deadly serious. I had to slash his blade to avoid that I might kill him and that's the last thing I want. »  
« You actually _wrecked_ his sword ? » she asked unbelievingly. « Ringo has the strongest blade of the village. »  
« Well, he learned a lesson. I think. » he added.  
« What's that ? »  
« Never mess with a guy who carries a Daïkatana. »  
Talinn laughed at that.  
« I wasn't joking. » Duncan said seriously. Talinn's face smoothed out.  
« You really have a Daïkatana ? »  
« I have. »  
« Can I see it ? »  
Skywalker sighed and took his blade. Talinn took it by the handle and examined it like a curious five-year-old.  
« Careful, the blade is sharp. Real sharp. »  
« I bet that sword kicks ass. » she said as she gave the sword back.  
« It does. » Duncan admitted. « When used properly. »  
« So tell me about Charlene. Like where you guys met and all that kinda stuff. »  
Duncan sighed. « Okay okay. We first met when she moved into my town of birth, Oregonia. From the moment I saw her, sitting on her white horse, I was so crazy about her. She had noticed it too and later that evening we met and went on a date. It went on for several months and after six months we got married. »  
« Yeah I know about that part already. » Talinn interrupted.  
« We liked doing everything the natural way. We grew our own vegetables, potatoes, carrots and we built our own house single-handedly. Hell, we weren't even tied into the power grid of the village, we had made use of nature itself : electrical power generated by use of a wheel in a nearby river and a small windmill, all tied to an alternator to produce the necessary power. Excess power was stored for later use in batteries. »  
« Waw, looks like you two had everything taken care of. »  
« We had. Until that day »  
« The day she died. »  
« Yeah. »  
« What's this doing it the natural way'-thing you mentioned ? »  
« I have a bond' with nature. »  
« What does that mean ? »  
« I can influence natural processes. Like growth and stuff. »  
« That I would like to see. »  
« Heh. You and everyone else in the world. » he quipped. Then he jumped down. « Well ? What are you waiting for ? »  
She jumped down too.   
« There's a field back there where we used to grow our potatoes. But it's shriveled. » she said while pointing to a field separated by a low hedge.  
Duncan walked over with Talinn close behind and examined the field.  
« Hm, looks like it dried out. »  
Talinn noticed that Duncan had a distant look on his eyes. He kept staring at a fixed point in the middle of the field. She did the same and her breath caught in her throat. The soil of the entire field was wavering as if it was liquefied. Then it smoothed out. After that, she saw small pinpricks of green begin to grow. Within the next two minutes, the field had transformed from a dead and lifeless patch of land to a prospering carpet of green.  
« All done. » Duncan simply said.  
Talinn couldn't believe it. One of the assembled villagers bent down and plucked a potato out of the ground.  
« I've never seen such big potatoes. » he said. The villagers began to harvest.  
Duncan walked away, letting the villagers do their work.  
« So does this bond' have any other effects ? » Talinn asked as she caught up.  
« Yeah, destructive effects. Like hurricanes, earthquakes and Lifestream eruptions. The other side of the medal, so to say. »  
« Lifestream eruptions ? » Talinn asked, completely baffled.  
« Yeah, it's like a volcano eruption, except that a Lifestream eruption can occur at any given place. »  
« I see. »  
Skywalker stopped as he heard a dim shrieking noise inside his head. Absently, he rubbed his head.  
« Something wrong ? » Talinn asked.  
« No, nothing. » he replied. But then the noise increased. He fell to his knees while clutching his head. « Too much can't stand it too loud »  
Then, he passed out while Talinn wondered what was going on.

After he passed out, Duncan Skywalker found himself surrounded by darkness.  
_He has returned_ a voice said. _I will tell you the story of a legendary creature that lived here. Listen well, Duncan Skywalker.  
_Skywalker said nothing he just listened like he had done whenever he was in this condition.   
_The Celestial Dragon has protected this land for ages. It lived in harmony with the villagers from nearby settlements both benefited from this symbiosis.  
_An image of a dragon appeared in front of him. Both intrigued and curious, he took in every detail. The dragon was big with large leather wings and a long tail. It shimmered in an invisible light source. On closer inspection, the dragon seemed to be composed of pieces of white crystal, giving it the likes of a jewel instead of a living being. He saw Dyenso Village and some other settlements living together with the Dragon.  
_The Celestial Dragon has an incredible power at its disposal.  
_He also saw the Dragon blast a patch of land with two rays of light that shot from its eyes. The targeted area transformed into a small forest.  
« So that's why that field was dried out. » he observed.  
_Exactly. Find the Sun Dragon and the Earth Dragon and you will find the Celestial Dragon. Ever since he Lakoyans took the Celestial Dragon's habitat, it has fled to its hideout. Find it and return the Dragon to restore everything to the way it's supposed to be.  
_A flash of light, the image of the dragon vanished and he found himself face-to-face with men in gray and black uniforms. Then the image shifted to Lakoya City. Another flash and he saw himself walking in the mountians, sword drawn. And Talinn closeby followed by Ringo and the Chief and some villagers.  
He heard_ Find the Celestial Dragon_ as he was flung back to the real world.

In Duncan's cabin, to where Talinn and Ringo had taken him Ringo and Talinn were bickering.  
« You're spending too much time with this outsider. » Ringo snarled.  
« Open your eyes, Ringo. Something happened to him and I took him here. »  
« Yeah right. Here's the deal, Talinn. Either he goes or I go. Your choice. »  
« Look Ringo. I told you I have nothing to do with him. I swear. »  
Ringo saw in Talinn's eyes that she was sincere.  
« Okay, but I'll be keeping on eye on you. »  
« Really, Ringo there's nothing to worry about. We were only talking about his past life. »  
« What did you find out ? » Ringo asked, all suspicion aside.  
« Well, he led a pretty hard life. And, like the Chief pointed out two days ago, he's married. But he lost her a while ago in a car accident. It's a long story, but don't tell him I told you. »  
Ringo nodded. « Okay. »  
She looked down on Duncan who was lying on the bed. Suddenly his eyes snapped open which made Talinn jump in surprise. He looked around.  
« Where am I ? »  
« In your cabin. » Talinn replied. « What happened ? »  
« I heard some noise in the back of my mind and I must've passed out. »  
« You have. » Ringo confirmed.  
« I saw stuff. Flashes of things to come. About the Celestial Dragon. And Lakoya City. »  
Both Ringo and Talinn looked at each other when he mentioned that.  
« We'd better see the Chief. »

**_Village Chief's house, Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**The Chief eyed Skywalker. « You're sure about this ? » Talinn and Ringo were also present.  
« As sure as I'll ever be. » Duncan replied. « The visions were clear. The Lakoyans are planning to make a move. And we have to locate the Sun Dragon and the Earth Dragon to find the Celestial Dragon. »  
« We'll begin an expedition right after we settled everything with the Lakoyans. »  
« That reminds me. I also saw a showdown between us and the Lakoyans. »  
« What ? » the Chief asked aghast. « We don't stand a chance if they use that ray cannon. »  
« You mean that big cannon at the top of the city ? » Skywalker asked.  
« That's it. » the Chief confirmed.  
« What powers that cannon ? » Duncan asked.  
« They used their nr 5 reactor to provide the cannon with power, but we blew it up. The reactor, I mean. They must be using another. »  
« I think so too. »  
Jeb stormed in. « Chief, the city lights are more brillant than before. The cannon is being powered at this very moment. You can see it from here. »  
Jeb moved to a window and slid the curtains aside. In the distance, the top of Lakoya City was visible. The lights were indeed brighter, as Jeb had said. And the lights on the Ki Ray cannon were pulsating once again.  
« If they are doing what I think they're doing, it'll be far worse than before. » Duncan said.  
« What do you mean ? » Talinn asked.  
« Haven't you noticed ? The area around the city is dying. »  
« I noticed. » Talinn replied. « But what has that to do with the city ? »  
« They're tapping into the Lifestream. Somehow, they must've modified their reactors to absorb the energy and process it, causing the surrounding area to wither. »  
« Where does that leave the cannon ? » Ringo asked.  
« If they apply the Lifestream energy in the shells or whatever ammo the cannon uses, this could produce a blast far worse than before. »  
« By the Dragon. » the Chief said. « We're sunk. »  
« Not if we can negotiate some sort of treaty with them. » Talinn pointed out.  
« My point exactly. » Duncan said. « If we can keep them from attacking us, we can make some kind of arrangement. »  
« For our sake if not for your own, I hope you're right. » the Chief said. « We'll see in the morning. »  
They all went out and to their cabins to get some rest.

* * *

V

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**The other day in the command center, the commander rubbed his hands.  
A scientist came in. « All systems go. The Ki Ray is nearly fully powered. »  
« Good. » the commander replied. « What about the nr 2 reactor ? »  
« It keeps functioning as it should, sir. The modifications are holding. »  
« Excellent. For once, everything works out. » the commander mused. « What about the Jennai Soldiers ? »  
« Most of the soldiers are still in cryostasis. But we're getting a few out for a test run. »  
« Let's go see. »  
Together with the scientist, the commander walked out of the command center. After taking a few turns, they arrived at an elevator which took them to the lower levels in the city underground.  
The lift doors opened and the two proceeded through the vast network of corridors.  
Then, they found themselves in a large room filled with transparent pods. In each of them stood a Jennai Soldier in full battledress. The commander walked past the row of pods.  
« Perfect. Each of these soldiers are genetically enhanced to withstand almost any enemy and to obey only one commander. Me. »  
« They're wonderful, aren't they ? » the scientist asked.  
« Yes, you've done a very good job. It'll be noted in your file. » the commander replied approvingly. « Get one out. »  
« As you wish. » the scientist replied and went to a large console to execute the order.  
The computer's voice echoed through the chamber : « _Pod JS33 warming up._ »  
A moment later, the pod opened with a hiss and the soldier stepped out. The commander eyed him, taking in every detail.  
Soldier JS33 looked at the commander. « What are my orders ? »  
« Rats ! Looks like I owe you a bottle of brandy. » the scientist said. They had made a bet between themselves what the soldier would say when he was taken out of cryostasis. The scientist had thought ready for programming' and the commander had said what orders ?'.  
« Yeah, looks like it. Get two more. » he ordered. Then he turned to the soldier. « A little patience. When your two colleagues arrive, I'll give you your orders. »  
« Very well. » JS33 replied and stood at ease.  
Meanwhile, the scientist had turned back to the console and warmed up two more pods.  
The computer reported : « _Pods JS34 and JS35 warming up._ »  
Two moments later, the two pods opened and the two soldiers stepped out. The commander beckoned them closer.  
« Follow me. » he said and with the three soldiers and the scientist in tow, he went back to the command center.  
The personnel was a bit surprised when they saw the five come into the command center.  
The commander pointed to a stretch of forest in the distance. « Somewhere in there, a resistance faction is hiding. They've opposed us for many years and I'm getting sick n tired of fighting them. So I plan to use you guys to wipe them out. »  
The three soldiers' faces remained expressionless.  
« How would you proceed ? » the commander finished.  
The middle one replied : « Initiate operation RESISTANCE SUPPRESSION'. »  
The commander grinned. « I have the most perfect weapon in my hands. I, Jennai, and no one else. »

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Talinn woke up as the first rays of light shone through the slits between the wooden beams that formed her cabin. She yawned, hopped out of bed and freshed up. Then she slung her crossbow over her shoulder and stepped out in the cool morning air.  
She went to check on Skywalker but found out he wasn't in his cabin when she arrived.  
_Where could he be ?_ she wondered. She checked the surrounding area but there was still no sign of him. But then she heard swooping sounds, as if someone was wielding something long.   
Behind Skywalker's cabin was a small stretch of land covered with trees. Talinn found him there, practicing with his sword. He had taken off his long coat, which lay not far away, to have more maneuverability. When she had the blade in her hands it had weighed almost nothing and now, when she saw him in action with it she knew it could have a deadly outcome in the hands of a skilled swordsman.  
It was unlike anything she had seen before. The technique was foreign to her. But it looked like he had everything under control, judging from the concentration his face showed.  
Talinn waited until he was finished before stepping up to him.  
« Those were some moves. »  
« The arts of shadow fighting, designed to enhance one's agility. I learned it from the Shaolins when I was travelling through the Eastern Regions. »  
« I see. » she replied.  
« How are things going ? » he asked while putting on his coat.  
« I was just on my way to see my father. »  
« Your father ? »  
She gave him a small smile. « My father is the Village Chief. »  
« There's a surprise. »  
« You didn't know ? » she asked.  
« Actually no. » he admitted. « But now I know. »  
« Yeah now you know. »  
They went to the Chief's cabin and found that he was already preparing everything.  
« All set ? » he asked.  
« I am. » Duncan confirmed.  
« Me too. » Talinn chimed in.  
« Oh no, Talinn. You're not going anywhere. » The Chief interrupted.  
« But father, I haven't been outside the village in ages. » she protested.  
The Chief held up his hand in a gesture for no complaints. Talinn's shoulders dropped. « Fine, I'll stay here. »  
« Good girl. »  
The Chief turned and together with Duncan, Ringo and some ten villagers he went out.  
But Talinn hadn't planned on staying here. Instead, she followed them from a distance.

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**Commander Jennai was reviewing some files in the city mainframe in his office when he saw something in the fields. He turned away from the screen and looked down. There were people heading towards them, coming from the woods.  
_Well, well. Look who we have there. The rebels_ he said to himself. He pressed a control.  
« Scan Area 3, we've got visitors. »  
« _Scanning._ » someone inside the command center replied. « _It's the rebels, sir. Shall I bring the Ki Ray on line ?_ »  
« Are they armed ? »  
« _Some carry weapons, yes. But they don't seem to be staging some kind of attack._ »  
_That's weird_ he thought. « Put the Ki Ray to stand-by. Deploy a batallion of 30 Jennai Soldiers. I'll accompany them. »  
« _Aye sir._ »  
The link was severed. Jennai got up and moved to the door to take the elevator in the command center to the ground level where the batallion waited. The three soldiers who were taken out of cryo were in the batallion.  
Once arrived there, Jennai inspected the row of waiting soldiers. All stood at ease. They wore black uniforms and ditto helmet with a green blast shield, keeping their faces hidden.  
« All right men. » he said in a loud voice. The soldiers snapped into attention. « We're moving out. Follow me. »  
The batallion turned 90 degrees to the right and followed him like a faithful puppy to the Eastern Gate. There, he pulled his comm device from his belt.  
« This is Jennai. Open the Eastern Gate. »  
« _Opening Eastern Gate._ » crackled a voice from the small speaker.  
The big double doors opened and they stepped out into the fields to confront the enemy.  
In the fields outside the city, both forces met.  
The Chief stepped forward. « Commander, we are about to search fo the Sun and Earth Dragon. So we'd appreciate it if you didn't attack us. »  
« Give me one good reason. »  
« The area around the city is dying. Surely you have noticed it. » Skywalker said.  
Jennai turned to face him. « And this must be the one that beat up three of my men while they were doing their duty. »  
« Doing their duty ? They were trying to kidnap a defenseless boy. » Ringo snapped.  
« What's your point ? » Jennai asked.  
« Deactivate the reactor that's sucking up Lifestream energy. » Duncan requested.  
« Why should I ? This reactor provides us with more power than our five reactors produced in two whole years. »  
« Shut it down or else something terrible might happen. » Duncan said.  
« Like what ? » Jennai asked, not quite convinced.  
« The downfall of the city. »  
Jennai remained unimpressed. Then he gave his soldiers their first orders. « Seize them. »  
The soldiers surrounded them.  
« What do we do now ? » the Chief asked in a low voice.  
« Nothing. » Duncan replied. « They outnumber us almost two to one. »  
They were disarmed and herded into the city like sheep. But what they didn't know was that Talinn had seen everything from her hiding place in the bushes.

* * *

VI

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**They were taken to a towering building that served as the city's prison. It was located 500 meters from the Northern Gate. All the way to the prison, they kept their eyes open, looking for anything that might help in a possible escape.  
« Just look at that. Nothing but metal. No plants, no trees, no nothing. Just steel. » the Chief said in a low voice so the guards wouldn't hear them.  
« There I have to agree with you. » Duncan admitted. « I don't like the prospect of living in a city with no parks either. »  
« This city has been a curse all along. » Ringo hissed. « We thought they were villagers who were going to build a village of their own but no, it turned out to be this city. »  
« And right on the place of the Celestial Dragon. » the Chief added.  
They passed an open place that seemed to serve as a marketplace. No one was there at the time. Duncan looked around and his eyes came to rest on a small strand of green sticking out from between two metal plates.  
« Maybe all is not lost. »  
« What ? » Ringo asked.  
Skywalker pointed to the piece of green, but careful so it wouldn't be noticed by their captors.  
« What's your point ? » the Chief asked.  
Duncan scanned the surrounding area again. Another few strands of green were visible.  
« I'll tell you later. We're almost there. »  
The small procession reached the tower. Jennai took the lead and went in. When they passed through the spacious lounge, they stepped on a large elevator pad which took them to their cell level. The lift stopped and as they were being pressed forward, Duncan cast an eye on the elevator level : floor 35.   
The next thing he kept a lookout for was the section number. After a few minutes, they passed a wall mark that read : Section 453.  
A minute later, they were shoved into their cells. Each cell could hold three prisoners. Duncan, Ringo and the Chief were put in one and the others were shoved in pairs of two or three in other cells next to theirs.  
« Pleasant stay. » Jennai said mockingly before he left. As he walked through the corridor, they could hear him laugh : « Sun Dragon, Earth Dragon, Celestial Dragon Hah what a joke. There's no such thing. »

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Talinn ran into the village and bumped into Jeb.  
« Talinn, what's wrong ? You're all tensed up. » he said while getting up.  
« They got them. » she said out of breath.  
« Who's got who ? »  
« The Lakoyans. They have my father and Ringo and the others. »  
« Skywalker too ? »  
« Yeah, him too. »  
« This is bad. » Jeb said.  
« Tell me about it. » Talinn replied.  
« So what's next ? » Jeb asked.  
« Now that my father's not here, I'm taking over. Have the others meet me in the war room. »  
Jeb nodded and ran off.  
A half hour later, Talinn updated everyone on the current situation.  
« The Lakoyans have imprisoned my father, Ringo, the escort of ten villagers and Skywalker. »  
The news was both striking and hope-shattering. Without the Chief or Ringo, who was going to lead them ?  
« I don't have any news yet, but I hope that'll change soon. »  
« How soon ? » someone asked.  
« I can't tell you when, but don't lose hope. »  
The crowd murmured. Talinn banged hard on the table.  
« We can't let the Lakoyans win. They took the Celestial Dragon's spot so they have to go, not us ! »  
The crowd began to show signs of retaliation towards the Lakoyans.  
« But now we have to wait for any news from the prisoners. »  
_I hope it gets here fast_ she thought while looking out the window at the city.

**_Prison tower, Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**In their cell in section 453, floor 35, Ringo turned to Duncan who was looking out the small barred window set in the door. « Now that we're all by ourselves, maybe you could explain those strands of green we saw outside and your statement that all is not lost. »  
« Yeah, Duncan, you kept us waiting long enough. » the Chief chimed in.  
Skywalker turned away from the window now that he knew the guards couldn't hear them.  
« I take it Talinn didn't tell you two about my ability' with nature ? »  
« She didn't. » the Chief said, not knowing what he was talking about.  
« Well then, I can influence natural processes such as plant growth, rain storms, wind, thunderstorms, hurricanes and so on. »  
« Get outta here. » Ringo said, not believing what he was hearing.  
« It's true. Talinn saw it. About two days ago, I restored the potato field to its former state. »  
« So that's where all those potatoes came from. » the Chief reasoned.  
« You're not believing him, are you ? » Ringo asked.  
« I'm thinking it over. » the Chief replied.  
Duncan walked to the other window set in the wall opposite the door and looked out at the blue sky with a few clouds here and there.  
« So what's with the strands of green ? » the Chief asked.  
While looking out the window, Duncan replied : « Nature is beginning to strike back. But it can't put up a decent retaliation because of the Lifestream processing reactor. »  
He turned to face his cellmates. « It has to go off line. »  
« The question is : how do we do it ? We're stuck here. » Ringo pointed out.  
« First, we sit tight and see what happens. I want to know as much about this city as possible. Then, after we know enough, we can find out how to get a message back to the village and plan a sabotage attempt of the reactor. After that, we get the hell out of here to find the three Dragons. » Skywalker suggested.  
« Sounds good to me. » the Chief said.  
« Whatever you say. » Ringo added. His strategic expertise wasn't that sophisticated.  
Duncan sat down on the bench. The Chief positioned himself beside him. « Say, about that nature influence stuff, how exactly did you get it ? »  
« When I was a kid. I saw something bright blue-green on the ground in an out-of-the-way corner on the playground. I went over to see what it was. Of all the kids on that playground I was the one who actually could see it. The rest seemed oblivious. So I went over and reached out, and then »  
« Then what ? » the Chief prodded.  
« _ZAP !_ It shot up and sucked me in. I don't remember much about the experience. I must've passed out. I woke up 3 hours later in the principal's office. They had called in a doctor to check up on me. The results were fine. In fact, they were more than fine. It seemed I was in tip-top shape. I felt great, no worries. But I didn't know that my life had changed when I got hit by that energy. »  
Ringo had also listened. Though he didn't believe much about it, he found it an interesting story. « How did it change you ? And what kind of energy was it ? »  
« Lifestream energy. » Duncan replied and rolled up the sleeve of his coat to expose his bare left arm.  
« I don't see anything unusual. » the Chief said.  
« No, not yet. » Duncan said with a mysterious glee in his ice-cold eyes. He then moved his right hand over the inside of his left arm in an upward sweeping motion. A thin line of bright blue-green made its way from his wrist to his elbow.  
« Well I'll be » the Chief muttered.  
« This is what remains of the experience. You wanted proof about what I was telling you, don't you ? » he asked Ringo.  
« I never said I wanted any proof » Ringo began.  
« I can see it in your eyes. »  
« Well, now that there's proof of that ability' of yours, I believe it. » Ringo replied.  
Skywalker moved his hand in a downward sweeping motion and the line disappeared. After that, he rolled down his coat sleeve.  
« What's next ? » Ringo asked.  
« We have to get a message out. » the Chief said. Duncan agreed. And while they were discussing on the best method, they didn't see the falcon whose wing Duncan had treated land between two bars in the window. The little predator looked down upon the three discussing men, wondering what they were talking about.  
« Personally, I don't think we can catapult a metal cilinder all the way to the village. » the Chief said, critisizing Ringo's suggestion.  
« But still » Ringo began.  
The cell door opened and in stepped Jennai followed by armed Jennai Soldiers.  
« I've been doing some checking. » he began and looked straight at Duncan. « You have a remarkable reputation, Mr Skywalker. »  
Duncan narrowed his eyes.  
« Yes, I know who you are. You travelled hundreds of miles, seen many cultures, studied martial arts at the Shaolin community, lost your wife. But there's one thing I don't understand. »  
« What's that ? » Skywalker asked, on the alert. He had clenched his hands into fists when he heard that Jennai knew about his beloved wife Charlene.  
« Wherever you went, there have been reports of unexplained natural activity. »  
« So what ? »  
Jennai took his gun. « Therefore, I have to ask you to come with us if you would be so kind. »  
Duncan's ice cold eyes sized Jennai up. He was serious. He turned to his fellow prisoners. « This won't take long. » Then, he hissed : « Forget about the message for now. »  
« Of course it won't. If you cooperate, that is. »  
Skywalker nodded to his comrades, then followed Jennai into the corridor.

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Talinn strolled through the village, doing nothing. Only waiting. That's what she had said : they were waiting for any news that might come their way.  
Meanwhile, evening had fallen and stars began to emerge from the twilight.  
She looked up, wondering how her father, Ringo and the others were doing. And she also wondered about Skywalker.   
What was happening right now in that city ? Were they being tortured ? Beaten up ? All these questions raced through her mind as she continued on her stroll through the village.  
She looked up as she arrived at Roland's place. He was sitting outside with his telescope, observing the stars.  
She approached him. « Hey Ro. »  
« Hey Talinn. » Roland replied while looking over hs shoulder at her.  
« Looking at the stars ? »  
« Yeah, they're very clear now. There is no moon. » Roland said, referring to the moon that orbited the planet. He looked through the telescope again. « There's Alpha Proxima. And here we have the constellation Orion. And here hey, what's that ? »  
« What ? » Talinn asked.  
« It looks like a space station. I think. »  
« Lemme see. » Talinn looked through the telescope at the night sky. There she saw indeed a station. It had an elongated section, pointing to the planet and a lot of smaller panels and compartments sticking out. That was all that was visible from this distance. « It _is_ a space station. »  
« The Lakoyans ? » Ro asked.  
« Possibly. » Talinn replied grimly.  
She got up. « Keep an eye on that thing. »  
« You got it. » Ro replied and turned back to his telescope.  
_Why didn't we know about this ?_ she wondered. _Why did the Lakoyans build a space station ? And what is its purpose ?  
_She kept wondering about this while she ran back to update the others.

* * *

VII

**_Prison tower, Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**Surrounded by armed Jennai Soldiers, Duncan followed Jennai to the elevator pad. They stepped on, Jennai punched in the destinaton code and the pad went down.  
Skywalker carefully cast an eye left and right of him. Every soldier had a helmet with the blast shield down so he couldn't see their faces.  
« Any attempt to manipulate my soldiers will have no effect at all. They obey only me. » Jennai said, as if sensing what he was up to.  
« Thought as much. A beer-bellied liar with delusions of godhood is more appropriate. » Duncan replied with a sideways glance at Jennai who stared straight ahead at the levels rushing up as they descended.  
« Careful, Mr Skywalker. Don't say things that can bring you in a nasty situation. »  
« Already there. » he replied.  
Jennai laughed. It was a hard laugh which made his skin crawl.  
« What are you up to ? » Duncan asked.  
The elevator pad stopped and Jennai motioned for him to step off. Duncan did as he was told and walked through the corridor. He guessed he would soon find out what Jennai had in store for him.  
The small procession stopped at twin metal doors. Commander Jennai entered his personal keycode and the doors opened.  
Inside, he saw a laboratory, complete with scanners, analyzing equipment, cryo equipment, and many other systems.  
Suddenly, three soldiers grabbed him. He tried to break free but the soldiers seemed to have an iron grip. A physician approached him with a syringe and injected something in his left arm. Duncan instantly felt it take effect. His eyelids began to droop, his vision began to blur and his legs felt like rubber.  
He was then taken to a large scanner of some sort of which the cilindrical component was partially open. He was placed inside and the transparent canopy closed.   
From somewhere distant, he could hear Jennai's voice. « What I plan to do, Mr Skywalker, is finding out what that abilty' of yours is and how we can use it for our own good. »  
_Madness !_ he cried out in his core. But he felt too relaxed to do anything. His mind was fully active, but the rest was drugged.  
Jennai laughed. « Start scanning. »  
The metal ring moved over him and began its scan.

In their cell, the Chief was walking circles. « I hope he's all right. »  
« Chief, he's an outsider. He doesn't belong here. » Ringo snapped.  
« He may be an outsider to you, Ringo. To me he's our only shot at finding the three dragons and getting rid of the Lakoyans. »  
« If we get out of here. » Ringo said.  
« Yes, if. But we're not getting anywhere if you continue to sit here griping like a schoolkid. »  
Ringo crossed his arms and grunted. The Chief went to the barred window set in the door and looked out into the corridor. Deserted. He checked with the small mirror he always took with him. Nobody.  
« Ringo, there's no one there. »  
« What ? » Ringo asked and got up. « Let me see. »  
The Chief moved aside as Ringo looked into the corridor in both directions. No one in sight. « What's going on ? »  
« I have no idea, but now's the chance to try and get out of this rabbit cage. I think they consider us harmless now that we're in here. »  
« Finally, something to do. » Ringo said with a grin. He stepped back, ran to the door and banged against it with his shoulder. The door creeked but didn't budge.  
« Let me try. » the Chief said and moved to the door. He looked at the door with the mirror and saw the small computer console set in the wall on the door's right side. He pulled his hand back, put the mirror away and tried to pry a panel off the wall. Ringo helped. The panel loosened up and with Ringo's help, the Chief placed it on the ground against the wall. Then the Chief ripped out every wire in the cavity. The panel shorted out and the door clicked open.  
« Tadaah. »  
« Splendid. » Ringo said approvingly. « Come on. »  
The two escapees stepped into the corridor and set out to find Skywalker and sabotage the Lifestream energy processing reactor. The little falcon flew off.

In the lab, the physician slammed his hand on the desk. Still nothing they could use. The scanners were set to their finest and highest resolution. But still nothing showed up. According to the scans, Skywalker was a normal human being.  
He got up and went to the small mess hall in a corner of the lab to get some coffee, then walked back with his mug.  
Jennai stood near the scanner, eyeing his subject through the transparent cilindrical canopy. « Give up resisting . We'll find out eventually. »  
Duncan's face remained emotionless. It was as if he was in a coma.  
Jennai sighed and turned away.  
Deep in his mind, Duncan went over what his mentor had taught him if he got into a situation such as this one.  
_Concentrate on the here and now. Focus. Think about what you care about the most_, his mentor had said.  
_Mother Nature_ Duncan had replied.  
_Then focus your mental energy on that subject.  
_Just as he had done in his training sessions, he concentrated on the Lifestream energy. He sensed it deep in the planet's core, felt it flow. But then it was brutally diverted to the reactor where it was processed. He heard the cries of the planet. He traced the flow through the city in his mind's eye until he saw some kind of power couplings.  
_Well well !_ he thought deep in his mind and began to fiddle with the energy.

While Jennai was anxiously awaiting the results of the scans, the lights began to flicker and alarms went off.  
« What's going on ? » he asked while looking around.  
« I have no idea, sir. » the physican replied.  
« Tap into the city sensors. » Jennai ordered.  
The physician tapped into the designated sensor array and his jaw dropped. « Sir, the nr 2 reactor is being drained of energy. »  
« _WHAT ?_ » Jennai asked furiously. « How is that possible ? »  
« I don't know sir. It's as if the planet is taking back what's rightfully hers. The energy we processed. »  
Jennai whirled and stared at the unmoving form of Duncan Skywalker, still lying under the scanner. He walked to it and said : « Skywalker, I know you're behind this. Stop it now or this city is doomed. »  
Duncan's emotionless face didn't reveal anything. The physician checked his readings.   
« He's in some kind of trance. »  
« Wake him up. » Jennai ordered the physican. « I'm gong to the command center. »  
While Jennai barged out of the lab, the physician approached Duncan with another syringe containing the substance that countered the effects of the drug. The scanner canopy opened and he injected the fluid.  
But then something happened the physician didn't expect. Skywalker's eyes snapped open and grabbed him by the throat with his right arm. The physician's body tensed up, unable to make a move, except his head, because Duncan had some of his fingers on several key nerve bundles.  
« Where is my blade ? »  
The physcian gasped, then said with a gurgling voice : « In the back of the lab. »  
Duncan released him and got out of the scanner. Then, he went to the rear of the lab. There he found his Daikatana, the Chief's two daggers and Ringo's sword. He put the weapons away, turned and went back.  
« How how dd you manage to resist the drug ? » the physician asked while rubbing his throat.  
« Profound concentration. That's all you need to know. »  
« I see. »  
Duncan walked behind the physician and pinched the nerves at the base of his neck. The man slumped to the ground, unconcious. He dragged him out of sight and laid him near the desk where he had sat while scanning something.  
« Sorry, doc. People like you always get in the way. Or try to understand something of which you don't even know what it is. »  
Then he ran out the door to find the Chief and Ringo.

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**« The Lakoyans have a space station. » Talinn said when all of the villagers had gathered the next day.  
« What does it do ? » someone asked.  
« I don't know. Our telescope isn't strong enough to discern any details. But I'm sure it's got something nasty in store for us. »  
« We should evacuate ! » somebody else suggested.  
« A good idea. But whereto ? » Talinn asked. « But it seems that the station isn't fully active yet. So we don't need to worry about it. »  
« For now. » Jeb said.  
« For now. » Talinn acknowledged. « As soon as it starts to make a fuss, we're outta here. »  
« Good enough for me. » Talinn heard someone say. A few others murmured their approval.  
« What about the Chief ? » a woman asked.  
« I was getting to that. » Talinn replied. « I need some strong men. We're going to find them and rescue them.  
Some eight men raised their hands, Jeb among them.  
« Good. Let's go. »  
Together with the volunteers, Talinn went out of the village and headed towards Lakoya City.

While walking through the forest, Jeb turned to Talinn. « How are we gonna rescue em ? »  
« We'll think of something. » Talinn said. « Our main concern is getting inside without getting seen. »  
They continued their approach. The trees parted and the found themselves in the fields which were still slowly decaying. A bit further stood Lakoya City in the first light of dawn.  
« Looks like they're giving the Lakoyans a hard time. » Jeb said while looking at the city lights which were still flickering.  
« So it appears. » Talinn acknowledged. « Come on. »  
They ran to the city as fast as they could.

**_Command center, Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**The doors parted and in barged Jennai. A technician turned towards him to give him an update. « Sir, the nr 2 reactor is losing power productivity. »  
« I know. » Jennai snapped. « What's causing it ? »  
« This is really weird, sir, but the power couplings are locked in reverse mode. We can't do anything. »  
« Damn you, Skywalker. » Jennai muttered while banging on the table.  
« Sir ? »   
« Never mind. Bring the Ki Ray on line. »  
« Sir, the cannon is tied into the power grid of the nr 2 reactor. It's off line. »  
« I don't care ! Get it on line ! » Jennai flared.  
« Yessir. » the technician said an got to work.  
The power flow running from the nr 2 reactor to the cannon was cut. Then, the Ki Ray cannon was tied into another power distribution net originating from another reactor.  
After several minutes, the technician turned to Jennai. « Power has been restored to the cannon. »  
« Excellent. Target the prison tower. »  
Everyone stared at him.  
« Sir, the resulting explosion will rip almost eight house blocks apart if we proceed. »  
« I don't care if it produces a crater ! Target the prison tower. »  
The crew turned to their consoles and got to work.

Outside, on the city's highest point, the Ki Ray cannon turned and aligned its sights with the prison tower in which the Chief, Ringo, Skywalker and the escort of ten villagers were being held.

* * *

VIII

**_Prison tower, Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**Skywalker ran through the corridors of the prison tower, Daïkatana at the ready. He rounded the corner and encountered his first stray : two Jennai Soldiers, armed with ray guns. He dove for cover around the corner as the soldiers opened fire, transforming the corridor in a cheap recreation of a thunderstorm as directed energy beams seared the space all around his hiding place.  
« Great, that's all I needed. Distractions. » Duncan muttered. He poked his head around the corner and was rewarded with a barrage of energy beams.  
_Bunch of wusses _he said to himself. _How am I gonna get past them ?  
_Then he remembered the Chief's two daggers.  
_Eat this, fellas !_ he thought. It then seemed as if time slowed down. He put his sword away, took the daggers by the blade and came into view from behind the corner. The soldiers stood there and opened fire, barely missing him as Skywalker threw the two daggers, one after the other. One dagger buried itself into the left soldier's helmet and the other dagger hit the other soldier square in the chest. Time seemed to resume its normal course as the two soldiers dropped to the ground like deadweights.  
« That's that. » he said and yanked the daggers out of the now dead soldiers and cleaned them up on their tunics before putting the weapons away. He then resumed his journey through the corridors.

The Chief and Ringo also ran through the corridors, searching for Skywalker.  
« Where do you think they've taken him ? » Ringo asked.  
« I have no idea. » the Chief replied. « But I'm sure he'll manage. »  
Ringo wanted to reply but was cut off when a squad of some five Jennai Soldiers rounded the corner, saw the two escapees and opened fire. Ringo and the Chief took cover.  
« How do they know we've escaped ? » Ringo asked.  
« I don't know. » the Chief replied as energy beams scarred the walls all around them. « They must've had some detector installed in that panel. »  
Ringo looked around. « We need weapons. »  
« Our weapons were taken away, remember ? »  
« Yeah, I know. But there must be something we can use. »  
More beams scarred the walls. The two instinctively kept their heads down. But then they heard a ruckus coming from where the soldiers were firing at them. All firing ceased.  
« What happened ? » Ringo asked.  
« I have no idea. » the Chief replied. He then beckoned for Ringo to look around the corner.  
Ringo did as he was told and looked around the corner. He saw Skywalker walking towards them as confident as if on a vacation on the beach. Behind him lay the five soldiers. All dead.  
« It's Skywalker. » Ringo said.  
« What ? » the Chief asked and also poked his head around the corner. « Hey, you're right. »  
They both got up as Duncan stopped beside them.  
« I believe these are yours ? » he asked as he gave the Chief and Ringo their weapons.  
« Where did you find them ? » Ringo asked.  
« No time. Escape now, talk later. » Skywalker replied.  
They continued to run through the corridors, got the other villagers out of their cells and proceeded to the elevator pad which took them to the ground level.

**_Fields outside Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**The small rescue squad, lead by Talinn, ran to the city and while they did that, they tried not to be seen. Jeb pointed forward at the double doors of Eastern Gate which were partially open.  
« How thoughtful. » Talinn said silently.  
Jeb grabbed her arm. « It can be a trap. »   
« That is also possible. » she replied. « But I think they're too busy with restoring their power systems. »  
« You got a point there. » Jeb admitted.  
While a few villagers eyed the surrounding area, the others sneaked inside. Those who had kept an eye out came last.  
« Where do you think they have taken them ? » Jeb asked.  
Talinn looked around. « I have no idea. »  
« Up there ! » someone said and pointed to the city's highest point. Everyone in the rescue squad looked up to see the Ki Ray cannon align itself with a tower.  
« Looks like they're being held there. » Talinn deducted. « Come on. »  
They ran to the tower as fast as they could.

**_Prison tower, Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**The elevator pad carrying the Chief, Ringo, the escort of ten villagers and Skywalker soared downward to ground level. Sometimes, the elevator malfunctioned due to the energy fluctuations.  
« So where did they take you ? » the Chief asked.  
« To some sort of lab. They wanted to know what my ability' was and how they could use it for their benefit. »  
« I wonder what's causing these energy fluctuations. » someone asked.  
« I did that. While I was fighting the drug through profound concentration, I sensed the Lifestream energy that was being processed. I traced it towards the city power couplings. Just one surge of energy and the couplings were locked in reverse mode. Now only a few packages of energy get through. »  
« I see. » the Chief replied. « We're almost there. »  
They all took their weapons as the pad continued downward.  
Once they arrived at ground level, they carefully inched their way through the spacious lounge. The few soldiers that were present were quickly dealt with.  
Then, they found themselves outside.  
They ran to out into the open towards a barracks building which had served as the labourer's sleeping place when the tower was under construction. But half-way, they met up with Talinn and her companions.  
« Father ! Ringo ! » she exclaimed and embraced her fiancé which returned the hug.  
« Chief. » Jeb said. « You've made it. »  
« Jeb. » the Chief replied. « Yeah, thanks to Duncan here. If it weren't for him we'd still be stuck in the corridors. »  
The other villagers greeted their comrades.  
« I was so worried I couldn't sit around and wait. I had to do something. » Talinn said.  
« No matter. You did what you thought was best. That's the spirit of a good leader. »  
Talinn smiled at that.  
Then, energy beams seared the air all around them.  
« Heads up. » Duncan yelled which had kept an eye out.  
The now reinforced team of Dyenso Rebels took cover behind the barracks building and some debris. Some of the villagers which had come with Talinn carried some rifles. When the shooting had started, they begun to return fire.  
« We don't stand a chance. » Jeb said.  
« You're right. » Talinn replied and fired an arrow. « Not with those energy rifles they have. What do you think, Duncan ? »  
She looked beside her and saw him mixing some stuff. « What are you doing ? »  
« Shh, not now. » he hissed. He mixed some fluids together, along with some crumbled leaves. Then, he stirred it gently. « Does anyone have a small canister or something ? »  
Jeb found a small can. « Will this do ? »  
« Yeah. » Duncan replied and took the can from Jeb while the barrage continued. He poured the now transparent liquid in the can and sealed it. Then, he leaned out of concealment and rolled the can down a ten-degree angle slope. « Take cover. »  
They all pulled in their heads as a thunderous explosion rocked the ground as one of the soldiers shot the can. Then, they looked again after the smoke had cleared. A smoking crater was all that remained of the shooting Jennai Soldiers.  
« What was that ? » Ringo asked.  
« Have you ever heard of nitroglycerine ? »  
« Yeah. » Jeb said. « I have. It's very unstable and can explode at any sudden moves. »  
« This was a similar product. Only three times as strong. »  
« And three times as sensitive, it seems. » Jeb remarked.  
The Chief whistled in amazement.  
« That's some strong shit. » someone remarked.  
« Now that the soldiers are taken care of, we can continue what we came here to do. » the Chief said.  
« What's that ? » someone in Talinn's squad asked.  
« Sabotage the Lifestream energy processing reactor. » Skywalker said.  
« Does anyone know where it is ? » Jeb asked.  
« I do. Follow me. » Duncan said and ran ahead.

**_Nr 2 reactor, Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**The team arrived at the reactor without further incident. During the trip to the reactor, Talinn had updated them on what she had seen through the telescope. They looked up at the towering reactor which was humming as it processed more and more energy. Skywalker leaned against a nearby wall.  
« You okay ? » Talinn asked.  
« Fine. Just a bit dizzy. Let's put this thing out of commission. »  
« Gladly. But how do we do it ? »  
Duncan said nothing. He just took his katana and slashed a few pipes. The ground began to rumble. He continued to cut more pipes and as a finishing touch, he plunged his sword half-way into the console that operated the reactor. The rumbling increased.  
« It's gonna blow ! » Jeb yelled over the rumling. « Run for your lives ! »  
« There's no time. » Skywalker replied flatly. « Take cover. »  
« What about you ? » Talinn asked.  
« If we're to survive this, I have to tame the raw energy that'll be released when this thing blows. »  
A part of the reactor wall exploded.  
« Go. Take cover. I'll handle this. » Duncan said to Talinn. The latter saw that he already had that distant look in his eyes. Talinn ran with the others down the corridors and took shelter behind conduits and steel crates. Talinn, the Chief, Ringo and Jeb watched as Duncan faced the reactor.  
It seemed as if there was a blue-green aura around him. Talinn rubbed her eyes and wanted to look again but the reactor ruptured. A wave front of raw Lifestream energy emerged from the reactor, while a high spike of energy shot up into the air.  
Skywalker stretched his left arm, palm of his hand outward the wave front washed over him, a flash of blue-green light and the energy disappeared.

Talinn lifted her hands and looked through the slits between her fingers. All was clear, the explosion had occured without reaching them.  
« Everyone all right ? » she asked.  
« Still in one piece. » Jeb replied.  
« Same here. » a few villagers said from way behind her.  
« I'll live. » Ringo said.  
« Some blast. » the Chief remarked.  
« You did it, Skywalker ! » Jeb cried out.  
The came out of concealment and assessed the results of the explosion. The reactor was totally ripped open like a used packing crate debris was scattered everywhere. Where the reactor had been, a big crater had taken its place.  
« Duncan ? » Talinn asked in a loud voice. She tried again and again. Nothing. When there still was no response, she began to search through the rubble. The others helped and began to search somewhere else.  
There was no trace of him, anywhere.  
Talinn and the Chief eyed the crater. Jeb stopped beside them.  
« You think he got sucked in ? »  
« That's a possibility. » the Chief replied.  
« Maybe he was vaporized. » Jeb said half-laughing.  
Talinn gave him a destroying look. Jeb stopped laughing.  
« You know. I heard some stories about this Lifestream energy. » the Chief said.  
« What kind of stories ? » Jeb asked, curious like a five-year-old.  
« Anyone who had fallen into the Lifestream and had survived it, was rumored to have gone completely crazy. »  
« Charming thought. » Ringo replied. He had overheard this.  
« Let's get back to the village before they begin to shoot again. » Jeb suggested.  
« Good idea. » the Chief acknowledged.  
Talinn looked over her shoulder at the crater with a sad look in her eyes. Then she followed the others.


	3. part 3

IX

**_Command center, Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**« Get those couplings out of reverse ! » Jennai barked. Alarms blared as the gauges of the nr 2 reactor went crazy. Most of them skyrocketed due to the raw energy that was about to be released.  
« They're locked, sir. If try to break them free, they might short out. » the technician replied.  
Jennai rammed his fist on the console in frustration. The rebels were winning again. But he, Jennai, couldn't let that happen.  
« Just what the hell is happening ? » he asked himself.  
« I have no idea, sir. » someone remarked silently. Jennai pretended not to have heard that.  
« Deploy a squad of Jennai Soldiers. » he ordered.  
« Yessir. » someone else replied and complied. « Soldiers deployed. »  
« Sir ! » another technician yelled. « We've just lost control of the nr 2 reactor. »  
« What ?? »  
They all looked out the window as the ground rumbled. A few minutes later, a spike of bright blue-green shot up into the air. Jennai sat heavily in his chair.  
« The end of another reactor. »  
At that very moment, like he was sitting in his chair rubbing the bridge of his nose, he seemed old and tired.  
« Get me Sigma Station on the comm ! » he ordered as he got out of the chair as if reborn.  
« Hailing Sigma Station. » the comm operator said. « Comm link open. »  
The screen on the wall came to life and displayed the face of the acting commander who kept things running smooth when Jennai wasn't there.  
« _Is everything all right down there ? We just registered a huge energy surge on our sensors a moment ago._ »  
« We'll worry about that. What's the status of the station ? » Jennai asked.  
« _We're nearly done with assembly of the lower sections, sir. Beam emitters are being installed as we speak. And may I speak freely, sir ?_ »  
« You may. » Jennai permitted.  
« _You look like hell._ »  
« I know. The rebels are giving us a hard time. A real hard time. » Jennai said sighing.  
« _I see. Well, as I said before : we're nearly done. Getting the station and Project Sigma' to full power should take another four to five days._ »  
« Four to five days hmm. Keep me posted. Lakoya City out. »  
The screen went blank and was replaced with an image that showed the destroyed reactor

The Dyenso Rebels walked to the Eastern Gate. Talinn still had that sad and glazed look in her eyes. She felt as if Duncan Skywalker had been one of them from the moment he had entered the village. While proceeding to the Eastern Gate, she turned to her father.  
« Do you think he's really gone ? »  
« I don't know, sweetie. He's pretty mysterious and besides, he's got the planet at his side. I'm sure he'll show up sometime. »  
« I hope so. »  
« We didn't find a body. » Jeb said reassuringly. « So he has to be alive. Somehow. »  
« He told me that he had been sucked in when he was a kid. » the Chief said. « He'll show, believe me. »  
Talinn wanted to reply but then she saw Jennai Soldiers coming at them from every direction, outnumbering two to one.  
« Great. We're trapped. Again. » Ringo complained. The rebels took their weapons, ready for a fight. A fight to the last man if it had to be so.  
Above them, dark clouds gathered. Thunder rumbled.  
« What now ? » Talinn asked silently.  
« I'm thinking. » the Chief replied.  
Lightning flashed and thunder rolled as a part of the ground rose up and threw a handful of Jennai Soldiers off their feet.  
But then, they heard a voice that seemed to come from everywhere. Talinn thought to have seen Ducan's transparent image right in front of her.  
_Run ! Get out of here !  
_The rebels didn't have to think twice. They ran as fast as they could through the gap in the line of soldiers towards the Eastern Gate. While they ran, Talinn looked over her shoulder at the soldiers who tried to pursue them. They didn't get far. A crackling lightning bolt streaked down and hit the ground, sending tens of thousands of volts through the soldiers' bodies.  
Jeb turned back.  
« Jeb, get back here. » Ringo said in a measured voice.  
« This'll only take a minute. I wanna know what those guys look like. »  
Talinn and the Chief followed him. Jeb crouched beside the nearest soldier and took off his helmet. What he saw was a scorched face, but the man's features were still discernible. He was not quite handsome and not quite ugly, something in between.  
Talinn had meanwhile walked over to another soldier and had taken off his helmet.  
« Guys. » she said without taking her eyes off the soldier's face. Her two companions stopped beside her.  
« What the hell ? » Jeb stammered. « They're identical. »  
« So that's why they have helmets on. » the Chief reasoned. « From not being recognized. »  
« What are you getting at, father ? » Talinn asked.  
« I think that the first soldier was constructed, gene by gene. And the others are copies of the original. »  
« Makes sense to me. » Ringo said.  
« So Jennai has his own private little army. » Jeb remarked.  
« That, he does. » Talinn said while getting up. « Let's get out of here, before more of them show up. »  
The three went back to their comrades and went out into the open fields. The decay had stopped now that the reactor was destroyed.  
But then all of them saw something that defied everything. The area that had decayed was _reversing_ back to the city.  
« You're right, father. He's alive. » Talinn said with a smile.  
« I told you so. »  
The rebels walked back to the village.

**_Inside the Lifestream  
_**Amidst the folds of blue-green energy, Skywalker saw everything that happened on the surface. After he had told them to get out of there, he tended to the decay around the city. It wasn't that bad, but the reactor had processed a large amount of energy in the time it had available before he had shut it down. Permanently.  
While he hovered around inside the Lifestream energy flow, reversing the effects of the now destroyed reactor, he came across a long-lost echo of someone he had held dear with all his heart.  
_Charlene.  
_« Charlie ? » he asked astounded, not expecting to run into her here, inside the energy flow. He felt tears come to his eyes. It had been a long time since he had seen her. She would say it was very noble of him to tell them to find cover or the energy wave would've wiped Talinn and the others away_.  
_The image of Charlene floated before him as a 3D-image, locked in time.  
« I miss you a lot. » he murmured while he gazed onto her beautiful features.  
« I know. I miss you too. » she would say.  
He reached for the ring attached to the piece of string, reliving lost memories.  
Then, she suddenly disappeared. But his gut feeling about her watching over him had been correct. He permitted himself a small smile and decided it was time to return to the surface.

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Talinn ran ahead into the village, searching for Skywalker. She looked around the central plaza for him, but didn't see him. The Chief placed his hands on her shoulders.  
« He'll show. Just wait and see. »  
« I hope anytime soon. » she replied.  
Evening began to fall. Talinn went to her cabin.  
But when she was half-way, the evening air was illuminated by a blue-green energy eruption nearby.  
_That's got to be him_ she thought and ran out of the village before any of the villagers could stop her.  
In the forest outside the village, she took her crossbow. There could be Lakoyans patrolling. She walked among the trees, searching for him. After a while, she found him. He was sitting on a branch high in a tree, leaning against the trunk.  
_There he is_.  
« Duncan !? » she called. No response. « It's me. Talinn. »  
When getting no response at all, she put her weapon away and climbed into the tree towards his location. « Duncan ? » she asked again as she reached his spot. His eyes had a distant look while he stared over the green of the forest around him some whisps of blue-green energy were still visible. He turned his head and looked at her. He didn't seem to recognize her at first.  
« It's me. » she said again. « Talinn. You know : Talinn from Dyenso Village. »  
« Talinn ? » he asked in a low voice. Then his eyes cleared. « Talinn. Yeah, now I remember. The reactor the soldiers Lakoya City the Chief Ringo Jeb Jennai»  
« The reactor is destroyed. » Talinn said, refreshing his memory.  
Images of past events flashed before his eyes as everything came back, bit by bit.  
« I saw her. » he suddenly said and gazed at the stars.  
« Who ? »  
« Charlene. »  
« You _saw_ her down there ? How is that possible ? » Talinn wanted to know.  
« It's really quite simple. When someone dies, he/she returns to the planet. »  
« Spirit too ? »  
« Spirit too. » he confirmed.  
« So you ran into your wife's spirit down there. »  
« So near and yet so far away. It wasn't really her sprit but an echo of it. »  
« An echo ? » she asked.  
He lowered his head. « Yeah, unable to communicate. Just an image. But she's watching over me. »  
« That's nice. »  
« Yeah. » he sighed.  
« I'm going back to the village. Coming ? »  
« In a while. I want to stay here some more. »  
« Okay, see ya. » Talinn said before climbing down and going back to the village.  
There, she ran into her father.   
« Did you find him ? »  
« I found him all right. » she replied. « He's outside in a tree. »  
« Isn't he coming in ? »  
« Later. » she said and went to her cabin.  
High in the tree he was sitting in, Duncan sat gazing at the stars. He kept searching until his eyes fell on two bright stars near the Gemini constellation. Their stars. His and Charlene's.  
_They still shine_. His thoughts drifted off towards sometime in the past. Towards their house in Oregonia, near the cliffs. He and Charlene were sitting on the couch, watching TV. She had snuggled up to him and laid her head on his shoulder.  
_So near and yet so far away.  
_He remembered the accident, the two doctors of which he had punched the nearest in the face, the funeral ceremony, his bond' with nature increasing, his eyes changing, his life shattered, the beginnings of his journey around the world  
_Gone. All gone. A life destroyed all because of a drunk who got scared and ran like a weasel. If only I could get her back somehow, then my life would be complete again. But that is, of course, impossible.  
_He sighed and climbed down with the agility of a panther. Then, he went to the village.

* * *

X

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**In the city, some of the inhabitants were gathering at an open place not far from the destroyed reactor.  
« I have had it with this city. » one of them said.  
« Yeah, me too. » someone else chimed in.  
« Same here. » came from somewhere behind.  
« This guerilla war has been going on for far too long. The rebels are winning and this city is being destroyed bit by bit. We have to get out while we still can. » a man by the name of John said. He had crawled onto a piece of concrete and steel to address the gathered people. « So who's with me ? »  
Cheers and cries for freedom echoed through the plaza as the people showed their enthusiasm in leaving the city.  
« But how do we get out with all this fighting ? » someone asked. « Won't the commander try to stop us ? »  
« Let him try. We just pack our stuff and be on our way. »  
« It just might work. If he sees that we're deadly serious, he might let us go. » a woman said.  
« Come on. » John ordered.

High in the command center, a beeping sound reverberated through the center.  
« Sir, the people are leaving the city. It's like a massive exodus. » the sensor operator reported.  
« Let them. » Jennai said flatly. « This city is doomed to be destroyed anyway. »  
« Sir ? »  
« I said : forget it. Prepare everything for our departure to Sigma Station. »  
« Yessir. » the SO replied and went to do his task.  
Jennai turned to his second-in-command and gave him a padd. « If there are a few of them going to that rebel village, give them this. Tell them to give it to a man wearing a long black coat. »  
He nodded and went out.  
« Status ? » Jennai asked while turning his chair to face the SO.  
« The shuttle is being prepared as we speak, sir. It's already fueled up and they're bringing the last of the supplies on board. »  
« Good. It's time for us to leave this scrap heap. » Jennai said and got out of his chair.

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Skywalker walked slowly back to the village. When he arrived at the entrance to the village, he heard something coming from the city. He looked up and saw a small gleaming ship shoot up through the night sky. _Probably Jennai_ he thought.  
Then he heard something else, coming from the forest just up ahead. Voices.  
« Chief ! » he called. Boras, the Chief came running out of his cabin.  
« What's wrong ? » he asked.  
« There are people heading this way. »  
The Chief called a few men and told them to arm themselves. After that, they positioned themselves near the entrance, ready for anything. Skywalker kept his hand on the hilt of his Daïkatana.  
Then the source of the voices came out of the forest. Some fifteen people, seven women and eight men, stopped before the entrance.  
The first one, John, walked forward and gave Duncan the padd he had been given by Jennai's second-in-command. « One of the city's officers asked me to give this to you. »  
Duncan took it while eyeing the man to see if this wasn't a trick of the Lakoyans. It wasn't. He could see it in his eyes that he had nothing to do with it. Duncan examined the padd. It was a simple display device, used to record a visual message.  
He pressed the play-control.  
The screen came to life and showed the face of Commander Jennai.  
« _Mr Skywalker, I regret it that we can't meet face-to-face. By the time you get this message, we'll be about half-way to Sigma Station._ »  
_Sigma Station ? _he thought. _So Talinn was right after all. The Lakoyans do have a station up there.  
_« _I know you must be pretty amazed._ » Jennai continued. « _But here's what I say to you and your rebel friends : you shall and will be destroyed unless you surrender._ »  
Jennai leaned forward so that his face filled the entire screen. « _You've got five days to change your mind. Surrender or be destroyed !_ »  
The screen flicked off.  
« That's clear. » the Chief said. He had seen the message as well.  
« Very clear. Jennai has lost his mind. This guerilla war has made him build a space station. Who knows hat it does. »

**_Sigma Station  
_**The station had a large elongated section which pointed to the planet. In the ring above it were the regulation systems and power generation systems for Project Sigma'. The assymetric compartments above the regulation systems ring incorporated the command center, crew quarters, docking spaces, communication antennas, solar panels and defensive systems.  
Jennai's gleaming shuttle approached Docking Bay Three.  
« _Greetings Commander. You're cleared for docking at Docking Bay Three_. » the acting commander said over the open comm circuit.  
« Copy that, Sigma Station. » Jennai replied and steered the shuttle towards the opening bay. In the shuttle were Jennai, his Jennai Soldiers, the crew of the city's command center and supplies.  
The shuttle entered the huge bay and settled down on the deck not far from the hatch leading to the rest of the station. Behind them, the bay doors clanged shut. Meanwhile, a docking ring had attached itself on the shuttle's side. Jennai and the others stepped out into the airlock and into the station. The Jennai Soldiers ventured into the station in search of their designated place.  
Jennai looked around. There was still a lot of work to be done before they could bring the entire station and Project Sigma' to full power.  
The acting commander came out of the lift and headed towards them. « Welcome aboard, Commander. »  
« How are we doing ? » Jennai asked.  
« We're still working on the power couplings and the gravimetric alignment of the Project. The power core is on stand-by. Work for another five days, sir. »  
« Get to it. I'll be in my quarters. »  
« Yessir. » the acting commander replied and went into the lift with the command center crew of Lakoya City close behind him.  
Jennai took another lift and went to his quarters.  
_You've got five days to surrender, Skywalker, before I grind you and the rebels into dust !_

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**« A space station ? » John asked. « We had no idea he built a station. »  
They had entered the village and gone straight to the Chief's house.  
« I had seen it through our telescope too. » Talinn said. « But I couldn't see much. »  
« Hmm. » the Chief murmured. « Then the answer lies in the city. »  
« What ? » Jeb asked. « Back to that heap of steel ? No way, man. That Jennai fellow gives me the creeps. »  
« Jennai left. » Skywalker said evenly. He was leaning a bit further against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and staring at the ground.  
« How do you know ? » John asked.  
« I saw his shuttle lift off towards the station. »  
« But what about the soldiers ? » Jeb asked.  
« I don't think Jennai is that stupid of leaving his precious soldiers behind. » Duncan replied while looking up. « He probably took them with him in the shuttle. »  
« That's a big possibility. » Talinn said.  
« Who's going to the city ? » the Chief asked.  
« I am. » Duncan said. « I want to know what that station'll be used for. »  
« I'm going too. » Ringo added.  
« So am I. » John said.  
« Anyone else ? » the Chief asked. No one replied. It was just Duncan, Ringo and John.  
The Chief opened a closet and took out four tiny headsets used for long-range communications and gave them to the three who were going to the city. He kept one for himself. They put them on and went outside.  
« _Do you guys hear me ?_ » the Chief's voice asked over the comm circuit.  
« Loud and clear. » Ringo replied.  
« _Take it easy out there_. »  
« We will. »  
The three walked out the entrance and headed to the city.

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**Wary of their surroundings, Duncan, John and Ringo walked into the city. John took his weapon : an oversized baseball bat. Ringo did the same and drew his blade. Duncan took the lead, his sword still in its sheath. There was no one in the city, anywhere.  
« This is spooky. » Ringo admitted.  
« It's just your own fear taking over. Stay focused. » Skywalker said while eyeing the surroundings.  
« Easy for you to say, outsider. »  
Duncan gave him a stern look when he heard that word being mentioned again.  
« Watch it. » he warned. Ringo shut up.  
« Where would all the key information be located ? » Ringo wondered.  
« Probably in the command center. » John said. « This way. »  
He led the way to a large tower. Duncan noticed that the tower with the Ki Ray cannon stood right beside it. they went inside and took the elevator pad to the highest level.  
« Power is still functional. » John remarked.  
« For now. » Ringo added.  
When they reached the top floor, Duncan took the lead again. While proceeding through the corridors, John turned to Ringo. « Strange man, isn't he ? »  
« He sure is. Shrouded in mystery. »  
« It seems he isn't human. »  
« Oh he is, trust me. Some guys messed his life up some time ago and now he's wandering around. But stay away when he uses his ability'.  
« What's that ? »  
« Believe it or not but he actually _restored_ our potato field that had withered four years ago and he took care of the decay around the city. »  
John's eyes widened. « You're kidding. »  
« Nope. »  
« This must be the command center. » Duncan said when they arrived at two large metal doors.  
« Yeah that's it. » John replied. « But it's locked. How do we get in ? »  
He pushed against the doors which didn't budge.  
« Simple. » Skywalker said and unsheathed his Daïkatana.  
« What a weapon. » John gasped while eyeing the long blade.  
Skywalker payed no attention to the ramblings and turned to the doors. He then slashed the hinges of the left door and then the those of the right door. he sheathed the sword and kicked the doors right on the spot where they met. The doors fell into the center with a lot of noise.  
« _What the hell was that ?_ » the Chief asked over the comm.  
« Nothing to worry about. » Duncan replied. « We just forced our way in. »  
« _Okay_. »  
They went inside and started to search the consoles. The Sensor station was only used for monitoring the trajectory of the station and the area surrounding the city. The others were Engineering stations which were used for monitoring the preformance of the reactors.  
« Over here. » Duncan said from Jennai's seat. On the console window stood the schematics of Sigma Station.  
« Sigma station. » Duncan read. « Official reports state that it'll be used for monitoring spatial phenomena, but here it says what it's _really_ used for. »  
Duncan turned the screen towards his to companions.  
« Project Sigma'. » John continued. « A station equipped with a power generation system necessary to power the » he stopped and looked at his two companions. « Sigma Cannon. »  
« By the Dragon. » Ringo swore. « They're targeting us from orbit. »  
_ five days to change your mind. Surrender or be destroyed _flashed through Duncan's mind. He checked the assembly records. « It's not ready yet. »  
« When will it be ready ? » John asked.  
« In five days. »  
« So we've got five days to find the Celestial Dragon and make em pay. » Ringo reasoned.  
« Yeah. » Skywalker replied. « Chief ? »  
« _Go ahead._ »  
« We know what the station is. »  
« _Good. What did you find out ?_ »  
« It's a cannon, Chief. They designated it the Sigma Cannon. »  
There was a silence on the other side which lasted for several seconds.  
« Chief ? »  
« _Sorry about that. I was a bit surprised._ »  
« It's not ready yet. Finishing the station will take another five days. »  
« _Then we have to find the Dragons soon or we'll be destroyed by that cannon._ »  
« Exactly. »  
« _Get back to the village. We leave at dawn._ »  
« On our way. » Duncan said and together with the others, he went out. They took the elevator pad to ground level and exited the tower. Soon thereafter, the three left the city.

* * *

XI

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Upon their arrival, Skywalker went straight to his cabin. The people from the city could stay with those who were willing to share their home.  
In his cabin, Duncan closed his eyes and did some exercises to relax his mind.  
Talinn knocked on the door and came in.  
« So what's new ? » she asked.  
« The Lakoyans have built a station with a bigger cannon than the one we saw in the city. »  
Talinn's eyes widened. « Bigger than the city cannon »  
« Yeah. But it's still being constructed. So we have to find the dragons in the remaining five days or we'll be wiped away. »  
« Who knows where the Celestial Dragon is hiding. »  
« Only the dragon knows. » Skywalker replied. « I'm going to bed. »  
« G'night. » Talinn said.  
« Night. »  
He turned in as Talinn left the cabin.  
He had barely closed his eyes or he was flung back into that dream state he had been in when he had passed out a few days earlier.  
_Now what ?_ he asked himself as he looked around in the darkness surrounding him.  
_Sigma Station is dangerous_ a voice said.  
« I know. I've seen the schematics. It's a cannon with the power of a few thousand Gigawatts. A whole lot of destructive power. »  
_Then you are warned, Son of Nature. Watch your step. Danger lurks at every turn and behind every rock.  
_« So where are the dragons ? »  
_When you think you're lost, turn around and then look back at the path you're walking on. There are clues everywhere if you look closely.  
_« I see. »  
An image resolved before him. The planet and the moon. In close orbit he saw a tiny black speck. Sigma Station. The image zoomed in on the huge station, displaying every detail. The upper assembly held the communication antennas, crew quarters, defensive systems, the command center, solar panels and docking spaces. Below the assymetric assembly was a ring which held the power generation systems and cannon regulation systems. Below the ring, he saw an elongated section pointing to the planet.  
_That must be the cannon_ he reasoned.  
_This is Sigma Station as it is orbiting the planet. A project of the Lakoyans.  
_« We're going out to find the dragons at dawn tomorrow. That leaves us only four to five days until the station is completed. »  
_I wish you well in your search.  
_« Wait a minute. Can't you give me a clue where we should look first. »  
It remained quiet for several seconds before the voice replied : _go east into the Neron Moutain Range. There you'll find some clues.  
_He was flung back to the real world with the voice's last words : _if you look closely enough._

In his cabin, his eyes flew open. He looked around and saw it was already morning. The interchange between him and the bodiless voice had apparently taken all night.  
He got out of bed, put on his long, black coat, sheathed his sword and went outside.  
The others were already up. Talinn was supplying those who were coming with them with weapons.  
He joined them. « Ready to go ? »  
« All set. » she replied. « Father stays here while you, me, Ringo, John and Jeb are going out on the search mission. »  
« Good enough. Let's go. » Skywalker said and led them out into the forest. After leaving the village and heading east, they walked up a slope into the mountains. Before he went any further, Duncan stopped and looked at the city.  
« Something wrong ? » Talinn asked.  
« Just going to take care of something first. » Skywalker replied, crossed his arms in front of his chest and closed his eyes. John eyed him with suspicion.  
The noise of shrieking and tearing metal reached them a few seconds later. They all turned to the city, except a concentrating Duncan Skywalker, and stared at it as if it was something they hadn't seen before. The city was being overgrown by plant life. The towers shook as the remorseless plant growth encompassed the entire structures and made them collapse. A few minutes thereafter, the city was gone. Totally overgrown.  
John whistled in amazement as Skywalker opened his eyes and continued on.

**_Control center of Sigma Station  
_**« Generators are online and charging. » a technician reported.  
« Good. » Jennai replied. « What about the targeting systems ? »  
« They won't be installed till the day after tomorrow. But the sensors are fully operational. »  
« Hmm, take a look at the city. »  
The technician turned and redirected the lateral sensor array towards the planet. It was silent for several seconds until  
« Sir, the city just lost all power. »  
« What ?? » Jennai asked, not believing what he was hearing and stepped up to the sensor console. He looked over the technician's shoulder at the readings displayed on the console screen. The city had indeed lost all power.  
_How is that possible ? _Jennai wondered and switched to visual. What he saw defied all logic. The city was being overtaken by green.  
« Skywalker. » he snarled.  
He saw the gleaming towers, once so magnificent in the sunlight, collapse  
under the remorseless plant growth. Jennai clenched his fists.  
He continued to watch until the last portion of the city vanished under the green vegetation.  
« Speed up the assembly. »

**_Neron Mountain Range, Neron Continent  
_**« That city is history. » Jeb remarked. A few portions of the city were still visible.  
« I'll say. » John said. « So what exactly are we looking for ? »  
« The Earth Dragon. » Skywalker replied without looking over his shoulder.  
« And what does this dragon do ? »  
Talinn continued : « The Earth Dragon will guide us to the Celestial Dragon. But first we have to find the Earth Dragon as well as the Sun Dragon. »  
« Something tells me this ain't gonna be easy. » John said.  
They continued on and came at a small trail running alongside a deep canyon. Jeb looked down. « Shit, that's deep. »  
« Watch out, the ground is highly unstable. Tread carefully. » Duncan warned.  
They moved ahead, step by step over the small trial.  
But then, the ground gave way under Talinn's feet and she fell. As if sensing what was happening, Duncan whirled around and grabbed her arm. But because of her downward momentum, Talinn dragged him down with her.  
« Talinn, no ! » Ringo cried as the two vanished in the fog below.  
« Crap. » Jeb cursed. « What are we gonna tell the Chief when we get back ? »  
« I don't know. » Ringo said silently.  
« We got to keep moving. » John said and took the lead.

While they ware falling, Talinn muttered : « We're gonna die. »  
« We're not gonna die. Not as long as I'm around. » Skywalker snapped back. « Give me your hand. »  
Talinn reached out and managed to grab his fingers. Duncan reeled her in and she wrapped her arms and legs around him like Boa Constrictor.  
« Hold on. » he warned and took his Daïkatana. Then, he rammed the blade half-way into the rock. While still going down, Skywalker held on tightly to his blade as it made a long scar across the rockface. To her relief, they slowed down and came to a complete stop about half-way down the canyon.  
« Okay. Here we hang. » Talinn complained.  
« Still alive. » Duncan added.  
« Right. So, what do we do now ? »  
He scanned the surroundings. They were surrounded by fog. He kept looking until his eyes fell on what seemed to be another trail just above their position.  
« There seems to be a trial just above us. C'mon. Climb. »  
She climbed over him and up towards the small path.  
« Won't the sword break ? »  
« Don't worry. It's a strong alloy. »  
Duncan followed when Talinn reached the ledge. He pulled his sword free, put it away and climbed up. Talinn sat against the rockface, breathing heavily.  
« You know. For a moment there, I thought we were goners. »  
« But we're not. » Skywalker said as he climbed onto the ledge. He positioned himself beside her, also getting a frew minutes rest.  
« I wonder what the others are doing. » she said wondering.  
« Being worried sick, I guess. »  
« I guess so too. »  
« Come on. The trail goes up, so we have to meet up with them sometime. »  
he said pointing to the trail that moved upward in the direction they were travelling before the two of them had fallen down.  
« Okay. Let's go then. » she replied and got to her feet.  
After walking for at least three hours, a thunderstorm came overhead. Driving rain sprayed down.  
« Great. That's great timing. » Talinn complained, then turned to her companion. « Can you stop it ? »  
« Yeah I can stop it. But I like to let nature have its way. I only interfere when there's no other way. » Skywalker replied.  
She looked around and spotted shelter. « There's a cave. »  
The two ran inside and made a fire. The, the two of them sat close to it. Talinn shivered. Skywalker took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. She gratefully took it but with only one question : « What about you ? »  
« Don't worry about me. I'm used to almost anything. »  
« Anything ? »  
« Anything. » he confirmed. « When I was in the North Regions, a blizzard had covered everything. And besides, that's near the North Pole Circle. It gets quite cold up there. »  
« So what places have you been to ? » she asked.  
« I've been to the Northern, Western and Southern Regions. »  
« What did ya do there ? »   
« Helping, travelling, doing what every being does : growing, evolving, learning. And I learned a great deal. »  
« Like what ? » Talinn curiously asked.  
« Like getting used to the cold up there and vice versa in the South : getting used to the heat in the West scientific stuff, helping out the local Air Force. Learned to fly a jet fighter. My callsign was Scorcher', by the way. Wanna know why ? »  
« Yeah. »  
« Well, we were inspecting the engines of my jet while a general approached the jet from behind to surprise-inspect us. But we didn't know he was there, so we carried on and let the engines rip. The general's cap was gone, scorched away and his face was pitch-black. »  
Talinn rolled across the ground while laughing out loud. « That's a good one. »  
The fire was comfortably warm. Talinn went deeper into the cave and came back a few minutes later with two rabbits. While they were eating, a falcon landed nearby. The bird hopped nearer and stopped right beside Skywalker.  
« Well well. What brings you here ? » he asked the little bird-of-prey. The bird looked up and squeaked once. He gave him a raw piece of meat. The bird gratefully snatched it from his fingers.  
« Where did he come from ? » Talinn asked.  
« I treated his wounded wing before I got to your village. »  
« I see. Looks like he's staying. »  
« So it seems. » Duncan replied. « What should we call him ? »  
« Why don't we let the bird decide ? »  
He turned to the falcon which shrieked once.  
« Shirrah ? Hm, sounds nice. » he said.  
« I like it. » Talinn said.  
« Yeah, me too. He can scout ahead for Jeb and the others. »  
« Good idea. An early warning method. »  
« Yeah, like the AWACS-system in the West. »  
« Awacs ? »  
« Airborne Warning And Control System. It's a radar system mounted on the back of a big plane. Its mission is to warn their fellows in their jets of any enemies that are approaching, which are out of the fighters radar range. »  
« Right. » Talinn replied. « Well, I'm getting some sleep. »  
« You do that. I'll keep watch. »  
As Talinn went to sleep and used his coat as a blanket, Skywalker looked up at the moon rising up from over the mountain ridge.

* * *

XII

**_Neron Mountain Range, Neron Continent  
_**Ringo also looked at the moon while keeping watch. He was so worried. They had searched everywhere where Talinn and Skywalker had fallen down into the canyon. There was no trace of them, only a long scar across the rockface. The best he could do was wait and see what happened. Jeb had told him : « Don't worry. Talinn and Skywalker'll turn up. »  
_I hope she's allright_ he thought and looked over his shoulder at the sleeping forms of his comrades. The fire they had made was still burning, bringing warmth to the cave they were using as shelter. The thunderstorm had taken them by surprise as well. Now, the night sky cleared out to reveal the stars and two of the three natural satellites the planet had in its orbit.  
He turned back to the opening of the cave, wondering about his fiancé. No marriage without a bride. _Maybe I've been a bit too strict with her. Maybe if I hadn't been such a jerk, she might still be around.  
Stop saying that_ said a voice in the back of his head. _You're overreacting. If she's alive, she'll turn up.  
_Ringo sighed.  
_Talinn, where are you ?_

He was flung back to the dream state. Duncan expected to hear the bodiless voice again but he ran into the image of his wife. She wore a white dress that shimmered.  
« What's going on ? Why have I been brought here again ? »  
_Relax, Duncan. I called you here for a reason.  
_« You ? Why ? » he asked the voice while eyeing the image of Charlene.  
_To warn you. Finding the Sun and Earth Dragon won't be easy. Many dangers lie ahead.  
_« I know. You warned me about it frequently in the past few days. »  
_Good.  
_« But now something else : why can I see my wife's image now ? After all these years ? »  
_That, I do not know. Even I don't know everything there is to know in life.  
_« But I want her back into my life. It's not complete without Charlie. »  
_I know. But it's complicated._ The image of Charlene wavered for a moment. _You can't bring back the dead.  
_« But if it were possible, I'd use the opportunity, believe me. By the way, do you know anything about the dragons ? »  
_Only this : unite sun and earth to find what you seek.  
_« That's not much indeed. »  
With a last gaze at his wife's image, he returned to the real world.

« Duncan, wake up. » Talinn said.  
« Huh ? Who ? What ? » he stammered while looking around. « Oh, its you. »  
« Who did you expect ? The Emperor of Caluga Continent ? »  
He wanted to say _Yeah_ but he didn't. He got to his feet and put on his coat Talinn had used as a blanket.  
« All set ? »  
« Ready to go. » Talinn confirmed. Shirrah made his enthusiasm clear by hopping onto Skywalker's arm.  
« Okay then. » he said and walked out of the cave into the bright light of dawn, searching for their friends.  
« Did you sleep well ? » Skywalker asked with a sideways glance as they continued on their journey.  
« Like a log. » she grinned. But then it faded as she saw something up ahead. Talinn ran ahead to inspect.  
« Take a look at this. » she said as Duncan stopped beside her. « Looks like there was a fight here. »  
Duncan meanwhile searched the surrounding area. « The question is : between who ? »  
« That I don't know. »  
« Maybe I do know. » Skywalker said as he pulled a leather object out of the bushes. A sling. Shirrah had found it. He showed it to Talinn.  
« That's Jeb's. »  
« You sure ? »  
« Positive. Jeb uses that sling a lot. Especially when he's out on a hunt for food. »  
« Then they have to be closeby. Shirrah, see if you can locate them. »  
Talinn gave a description of their companions. After that, the bird flew off.  
« Now we wait. » Duncan said. Talinn was worried. Worried about Ringo.  
Duncan searched the area some more. The first six footprints were those of their companions. But there were other prints as well. Prints of mocassins.  
_Indians ? Here ?_ he wondered. Then he remembered a story he had heard from an old indian Shaman of the Cheyenne Tribe about a small part of the Tribe who went on a journey to new lands. _My head goes off if that aren't those Cheyennes who set out on that journey. If Kalunak only knew._ Kalunak was the one who had shared the story with him as a gratitude for bringing back the buffalo's who had fled when Western way of life gave them a hard time.  
« Indians. » he said flatly.  
« Indians ?? » Talinn asked and knelt beside him. « Are you sure ? »  
« See these prints ? » he asked while pointing to those of their companions.  
« Yeah. I see em. What about them ? »  
« That are the footprints of our friends. There's Jeb's and Ringo's and there are those of the three others. »  
« Hey yeah, I know Ringo's footprints and that are his footprints. But what about the other prints ? »  
« These prints here are made by men wearing mocassins. There were about eight to ten men here, it's difficult to ascertain how many there really are. It's definite proof that there are Indians around. »  
« Could they be watching us ? »  
« There's a big possibility, but I think it's not very likely. The traces are recent. So I conclude that they'll have their hands full with our comrades. »  
« I guess so. What's next ? »  
Duncan wanted to reply but was cut off by the shriek of an approaching little falcon.  
He stretched his arm and the bird landed. Shirrah gave off a few shrieks.  
« What did he say ? » Talinn asked.  
« He found them. » Duncan said while still staring in the falcon's eyes.  
« Where are they ? »  
« Closeby. »  
« Come on. » she said and took the lead. The falcon flew up to guide them.

**_Cheyenne Tribe Camp, Neron Moutain Range, Neron Continent  
_**Ringo swore as hard as he could. He and all the others were tied to wooden poles placed at regular intervals from each other. These poles faced the tribe's totem which rose up in the center of the camp.  
« When are they gonna untie us. I'm getting mighty sick of this ! » Ringo yelled and yanked hard on the ropes that kept his wrists tied together behind the pole.  
« I don't think they're gonna do that. » Jeb said. « I think we're the next ritual sacrifice, judging from all these preparations. »  
All around them, the Cheyenne people went about their task to have a big feast tonight.  
« Big deal. » Ringo snapped back. « When I get my hands free, I'll give _them_ a feast they won't forget so easy. »  
« Ringo, relax. All is not lost. Not yet, that is. » Jeb said.  
« Whaddaya mean ? »  
« Talinn and Skywalker. They're the ones who are still free. »  
« In case you don't remember : they fell down a cliff. »  
« I know. But it takes more than just a fall to put Talinn out of commission. » Jeb replied.  
« For your sake, I hope you're right. »

A bit further, three pair of eyes observed the Cheyenne camp from behind the bushes.  
« That's them all right. » Talinn observed.  
« The Cheyennes seem to be preparing everything for a ritual sacrifice tonight. » Duncan said.  
« Our friends ? »  
« They're the sacrifice. »  
« We have to stop them. »  
« I know. I have a little plan brewing, give me another few minutes and then I'll have something. »  
Talinn parted a few branches and observed the camp again. « I see Jeb. »  
« Try to get his attention. »  
Talinn waved at Jeb as inconspicuous as possible but he didn't see her.  
« Rats, he doesn't see us. »  
« We'll wait till the evening. Then we go in. »  
« To do what ? »  
Duncan eyed her with his cold light blue eyes. « To crash a party. »

**_Sigma Station  
_**High above the planet surface, reflecting the sunlight, Sigma Station continued to revolve around the planet. In the command center, Jennai turned to his subordinates.  
« Any updates ? »  
« We've finished configuring the Delta Wave generators for optimum performance when the entire station is brought online. » Sarge, the head technician who also had been in charge of the city reactors, said.  
« Three days to completion. » Jennai murmured.  
« That is correct, sir. » Sarge replied.  
« Keep assembling as fast as you can. I want to get this baby online as soon as possible. »  
« Yessir. » Sarge said, saluted and headed out the door.  
Jennai turned to his team of scientists. « What about the cannon ? »  
« The designs for the Sigma Ray are complete. » one of them replied. « When the station is brought online, we'll be able to integrate the Sigma Ray designs into the existing cannon assembly. »  
Jennai accessed the designs from his console screen embedded in the desk in front of him and grinned. The Sigma Project' was the biggest project they had ever produced and it was going to be one hell of a light show.

**_Cheyenne Tribe Camp, Neron Mountain Range, Neron Continent  
_**The evening fell. All was set in the Cheyenne camp.  
The Tribe Chief came out of his wigwam and walked to the prisoners. He stopped a good meter in front of the row and pointed straight at Ringo. The Shaman came at him with a ritual knife.  
« This is it guys. See you on the other side. » one of the villagers said.  
But then a voice cut through the evening air. « Hold it right there ! »  
Everyone turned towards the source of the voice. A few meters further, Skywalker and Talinn stood near the entrance of the camp, defying the Cheyennes.  
« Talinn ! You're alive ! » Ringo said with great relief.  
« I _told_ you. » Jeb remarked.   
« Yeah yeah. So you did. »  
« I'm fine, Ringo ! » Talinn yelled back.  
The Shaman wasn't going to let two intruders interfere with the ceremony and threw the ritual knife towards them. Duncan stepped forward and grabbed the dagger by the blade just inches away from his chest. The indians eyed him with big round eyes. The Shaman's knife always hit its target. Or so they believed.  
The Tribe Chief turned to his warriors and issued an order in the Cheyenne language : « Stop them. »  
Talinn recoiled as the Cheyenne warroirs came at them.  
This was bad. Real bad.  
The odds would turn against them if something didn't happen real soon.


	4. part 4

XIII

**_Sigma Station  
_**« Engaging Sigma Ray modifications. » Sarge announced. Everyone turned to the room-sized screen where the information about the Sigma Ray was displayed. The specifications changed as the modifications were implemented.  
« Modifications complete. » he reported.  
« Run a computer-simulated test. » Jennai ordered. Sarge turned to his console and executed the order.  
« Aligning Sigma Cannon with specified target. » Sarge said.  
« The rebel village. » Jennai said coldly.  
Sarge put the designated target into the targeting computer.« Village targeted. »  
« Fire. »  
It was silent for a few minutes. Everyone held their breath for what they knew must come : success and continue with the assembly or failure and back to the drawing board.  
Then Sarge announced : « Target destroyed. Simulation successful. »  
Jennai grinned. « Continue with assembly. »  
« Yessir. » Sarge replied and did his work.

**_Cheyenne Tribe Camp, Neron Mountain Range, Neron Continent  
_**« Now would be a good time to do something. » Talinn said as the warriors advanced. « Duncan ? »  
He said nothing. He just stared at them with an ice-cold and unwavering look. Talinn was surprised to see them hesitate. They stopped and turned to each other, murmuring among themselves. Duncan hefted the ritual knife and threw it at the totem. The blade buried itself into the ground right in front of it.  
One of the warriors turned and went to the Chief. « Ugh, man with long coat has hard look in eyes. »  
« Wolf-with-one-feather has nothing to fear. We are Cheyennes. »  
« What are they doing back there ? » Talinn wondered.  
« Discussing their next strategy I guess. » Skywalker replied. « Do you know what animal they worship ? »  
« No. »  
« The falcon. »  
« What's your point ? » she asked as the Chief joined the four warriors.  
« You'll see. » he replied and called Shirrah. The bird flew over and landed on the totem and spread its wings. The indians all gazed at the little falcon whose wing Skywalker had treated. The bird then took off and landed on Duncan's arm. The Chief approached him. Talinn saw the surprised look on his face as Duncan addressed the Chief in his own language. « Would you be so kind as to release our friends ? »  
« Ugh. » he replied and untied the prisoners. Ringo ran to Talinn and embraced her.  
« I knew it would take a lot more than a fall to put you out of commission. » Jeb said to Duncan.  
« Yeah. I know. »  
They all stood there for a few moments, talking about what they had found out when suddenly a Cheyenne woman stormed out of her wigwam, screaming as if her life depended on it.  
« What's going on ? » Ringo asked. He and all the others, save Skywalker, had no idea what she was screaming for.  
Duncan's eyes narrowed as he put his knowledge of the Cheyenne language to use. « Her son has some kind of disease. »  
He walked to the wigwam, ignoring the protests of the other Cheyennes and stepped inside. Inside, he found a kid who was delirious with high fever. Behind him, the Chief, the Shaman, the kid's mother and Talinn and Ringo entered.  
Duncan put his winged companion on the edge of the bed and placed his hand on the boy's forehead. The kid was practically burning up. He removed his hand.  
« Hmm. Magola Fever. We have to calm him down somehow. » he said in Cheyenne.  
« I've tried everything. » the mother said. « Nothing helps. »  
« I got something. » he said and pulled out his little wooden flute. He sat down on the ground, cross-legged and started to play the small modification of his wife's favourite song _Watch Over Me_. At first nothing happened, but a few minutes later, he calmed down bit by bit. It also had effect on the others present. The mother was relieved that her boy was going to be all right. Duncan stopped playing as the boy was totally relaxed and began the treatment. He checked for any injuries and found one on the boy's right shoulder which was infected.  
« Bingo. » he murmured. He took his medicine bundle and took out some Logoma leaves which he ground into a fine powder.  
« I need some water. » he said.  
The Chief leaned out of the wigwam and shouted an order to bring water. The water came a few moments thereafter. Shirrah watched everything from his position on the edge of the bed.  
Duncan mixed some of the water with the powder in his hand. Then he held out his free hand over the ground. Right under his hand a small tear became visible from which a bit of Lifestream energy rose up. The released energy cast the inside of the wigwam in a blue-green glow. He caught some of it in his free hand and mixed it with the other compounds. The tear disappeared. Then he applied the mixture on the infected wound.  
Everyone gazed in disbelief as the wound actually _closed_ before their very eyes.  
« Well I'll be » Ringo stammered.  
« There. Your son will be fine. Give him a few days to recover and he should be running around again and up to no good in no time. » Duncan said to the kid's mother who could thank him enough.  
They all stepped outside. While they stepped out into the open, the Shaman eyed Skywalker with scorn. He was stepping on his, the Shaman's, turf.  
« What brings you here ? » the Tribe Chief asked.  
« We are looking for the Earth Dragon. I believe it's nearby. » Duncan replied.  
The Chief's eyes widened as he heard the Earth Dragon being mentioned. « You're crazy. There have been previous attempts by unfortunate adventurers who tried to find the dragon who were never heard from again. »  
« Well, we have a good excuse. There's a city a few miles back which robbed the Celestial Dragon of her spot. »  
« The Mirror City »  
« That's Lakoya City. » Skywalker said. « Correction : was. » he added.  
« What happened to it ? »  
« Let's just say that the city had a little trouble with a bit of uncontrollable foliage growth. » Duncan said with a glint in his eyes.  
The Chief didn't know what he was talking about. But he knew that people shouldn't mess with him.  
« Do you have any idea where the dragon might be ? »  
The Cheyenne Chief pointed to a high peak up north. « Lots of adventurers have gone in that direction. Many dangers lie ahead. »  
« Tell us something we don't know. » John muttered. The Chief didn't understand it.  
Suddenly, there was a commotion at the rear of the camp. The Shaman was turning the Cheyenne warriors against the unwelcome visitors. The Shaman finished his speech' and the Cheyenne warriors turned and came at them.  
There were about six of them.  
« Oh shit. » Jeb muttered. Ringo kept Talinn behind him, using his body as a shield. The Chief tried to persuade them not to mess with Skywalker but they didn't listen.  
The six Cheyennes took their Tomahawks and while screaming their battle cries, they ran towards their targets.  
_Fools_ Duncan thought, pulled out his Daïkatana and ran towards the incoming Cheyennes.  
What followed seemed to happen in a fraction of a second. Skywalker reached the Cheyenne warriors, the blade flashed through the air while he passed through the attacking formation and he came out of the crowd of six warriors, unscathed. The Cheyennes stopped a bit further. They had nothing but the handles of their Tomahawks in their hands. Between their position and Duncan's lay the top half of their weapons. A few of them swallowed hard. The Chief was right.  
The Shaman was furious. « Kill the outsiders. I am the Shaman of this tribe and I'm telling the truth. »  
Skywalker stepped up to him and looked deep into his eyes as if probing his very soul. « The thruth ? » Duncan said in Cheyenne. « You know what the truth is ? »  
The Shaman shook his head. The ice-cold look in those light-blue eyes gave him the shivers.  
« The truth is that you _can't handle_ the thruth. » he continued. « I'm not out to take your job, so don't go running around sending brave Cheyennes to their deaths. We're only looking for the Earth Dragon. The Chief has told us where to look and now we'll be on our way. »  
While turning, he put his sword away and walked back to the others.  
« Let's go. » he said and exited the camp with the others close behind. The Chief and the boy waved after them.

After a few minutes, they reached a blank rock wall.  
« A dead end. » Talinn said. « Now what ? »  
Ringo and all the others eyed the rockface for anything that might point them into the right direction.  
_A dead end ? That's impossible. The Cheyenne Chief pointed to this specific trail _Duncan reasoned. He too eyed the rockface. Nothing to see. Just plain rock.  
_There are clues everywhere, if you look closely enough_ the voice's words flashed through his mind. And, as the voice had told him, Duncan looked over his shoulder at the trail behind them. The he looked back at the trail and the rockface ahead of them. And then he saw something he hadn't noticed before, until now. A small carving in the form of a dragon in the lower right corner.  
« There ! » he said while pointing.  
« We're on the right track. » Jeb pointed out.  
The head of the carved dragon pointed diagoally up to the east.  
« We have to go north-east. » Ringo said.  
« Come on. » Jeb said enthusiastically. « The sooner we find this dragon, the sooner we can put that station out of commission. »  
An hour later, they stood before the opening of a large cave.  
« Spooky. » John said as they entered.  
« Don't be silly. » Ringo snapped back.  
Duncan held up a hand as a plea for silence. They all held their breath as they heard something move in the dark.  
« What's that ? » Jeb asked silently.  
« I hope it's the Earth Dragon. » Talinn replied. « And I hope it knows we got peaceful intentions. »  
They moved deeper into the cave. Everyone took their weapons except Skywalker. He could defend himself with his bare hands if he had to. Step by careful step they went deeper and deeper into the dark and dank cave.  
« Man, I don't like this. I really don't. » Jeb muttered.  
« Jeb, quit griping. » Talinn said in a measured voice.  
« Allright, allright. I'm just saying I have a bad feeling about all this and »  
« Yeah yeah, save it. » Ringo cut in.  
Duncan suddenly stopped. They all peered into the darkness and saw something move in the dim light.  
« It's a big lizard. » Skywalker announced. « Nothing to be afraid of. »  
_He must have the eyes of a cat_ John said to himself and indeed saw a big lizard crawl lazily across the ground when Duncan let some Lifestream energy coarse through the walls to light up the cave.  
Now that that matter was solved it was time to turn back to the matter at hand : finding the Earth Dragon.  
They all split up and went their separate ways, in order to find the Dragon more efficiently while the cave walls shimmered with Lifestream energy which was illuminating the cave.  
« Over here ! » Jeb yelled from another, smaller cave. They all rushed over and saw something blue-green standing on a pedestal. A statuette in the form of a dragon. Duncan instantly knew that this was it. He was only surprised to find this statuette, not an actual living dragon.  
« That's it. » he said.  
« Then let's grab it and find the other. » Jeb said and reached out. He didn't get very far. A blazing wall of blue-green energy appeared as Jeb's hand made contact with it and sent him flying backward. He quickly got to his feet and waved that everything was okay.  
« It's being protected. » Ringo observed. « But by what ? »  
« Lifestream energy. The ultimate shielding. » Skywalker said without taking his eyes off the little dragon. Then, he walked forward.  
« Hey wait » Talinn wanted to stop him but he had already reached the barrier. Jeb didn't dare to watch, John turned away with the thought that this could get nasty, Ringo's gaze never wavered and kept his eyes on Duncan, Talinn hid herself behind her lover as Duncan reached out. They all held their breath as his hand made contact. The barrier sizzled but didn't throw him backward like Jeb. Instead, his hand passed neatly through.  
« Of course. How could I forget. » Talinn said and explained Duncan's condition when she saw the questioning look on their faces.  
Meanwhile, Duncan had passed through the barrier and stepped up to the little statuette. He placed his hand on it and lifted it off the pedestal. The moment the dragon statuette was lifted up, the barrier winked out.  
« One down, one to go. » Talinn observed as they went back to the cave entrance.

* * *

XIV

**_Neron Mountain Range, Neron Continent  
_**Duncan eyed the small statuette in his hand. So this was the Earth Dragon. The Sun Dragon had to be of the same design : a small statuette. He looked up at the dark sky. The evening had passed rather quickly.  
« Night is about to fall. » Talinn said. « We should find shelter and stop there for the night. »  
« How much time have we got left ? » Ringo asked.  
« Two full days. » Duncan replied and put the dragon away.  
« That leaves us a rather large margin of time. » John said.  
« But we don't want to waste too much of it. » Jeb cut in.  
« Right. » Talinn said. « Let's find shelter and get some rest. »  
The searched in the dim starlight for a place to sleep. After a few minutes, they arrived at some bushes which hung over a hollow path, providing a patch of trail with cover.  
« Here's a good place. » Talinn said.  
« Cozy. » Jeb admitted.  
They placed themselves under the bushes while Duncan made a fire. He took the first watch as the rest went to sleep.  
While keeping watch, he took the little blue-green dragon out of his pocket. It reflected the light from the camp fire in every direction. A rather nice sight.  
« Beautiful, isn't it ? » a voice asked from behind him. Talinn placed herself beside him.  
« Yeah, it is. » he admitted.  
« I wonder what Sigma Station's status is. » she said.  
« Still constructing and modifying. » Skywalker answered without taking his eyes off the dragon in his hands.  
« I hope so. » Talinn said and looked up at the starry sky. Somewhere up there in orbit, a station with the power to incinerate anything was awaiting its completion.

**_Sigma station  
_**The command center was full of activity. The Sigma Ray demanded most of the crew's time and efforts, for this piece of equipment had to work perfectly or it meant their own destruction if something went wrong with the cannon.  
« Delta Wave generators are coupled and online. » a technician reported.  
« Initiating Delta Wave energy flow to Sigma Cannon. » another one announced and set the energy flow in motion.  
« Hey, we're getting a power surge over here ! » the system operator warned after half an hour. His job was to keep an eye on the systems to check if they were working correctly after numerous modifications.  
Sarge sprang into action and ordered : « Hit that control panel and polarize those power systems ! »  
The technician who had set the Delta Wave flow in motion ran to the designated console and pressed a control. The power gauges changed as the power systems polarized.  
« Whew, that was close. »  
« Next time be more careful. » Sarge warned.  
« Yessir. » the technicians answered.  
« How much time until the station is ready ? »  
« Two days, sir. » a technicain reported.  
Sarge eyed the room-sized screen on which a S ', the sigma symbol, rotated. The station's logo and a screensaver at the same time. He pressed a control, the S ' shrinked and moved to the lower-right corner to make place for the station's data and schematics. It was promising. All the systems were nearly online and complete. Two more days and the rebels would know what real power was and what it could do.

**_Neron Mountain range, Neron Continent  
_**Talinn took the next watch after two hours. Skywalker got up and joined the others on the hard ground.  
« Too damn hard. » he muttered, got up and looked around. He spotted a nearby tree, walked over and climbed onto the lowest thick branch. He then laid down on the branch like a panther and almost immediately fell asleep.  
Talinn found that rather amusing, seeing him complain about the ground. But then it changed into some form of respect when she saw he felt kind of at home in that tree.  
She looked up at the stars again. Among the millions of pinpricks of silver a large one was visible in the night sky. Sigma Station.  
_What the hell is going on up there ?_ she asked herself and wondered about the future and the future of both herself, Ringo and all the others.  
« Is the ground too uncomfortable for him ? » Jeb asked while pointing over his shoulder at Duncan in the tree while he joined Talinn.  
« Seems so. But you have to admit : he may be mysterious, but he has a good heart. »  
« Yeah, we've accomplished more in these past few days than in a whole year because of him. »  
In the tree, Skywalker kept one eye open. Something wasn't right. He could feel it. Something was sneaking around the place, searching for a prey. He got out of the tree.  
« Something wrong ? » Jeb asked.  
« Something is not right. » he replied.  
« What are you talking about ? » Talinn asked. « It's in the middle of the night. »  
« I know. But there's something wrong. » Duncan said and moved away.  
« He's gone crazy. » Jeb flapped out.  
« I heard that. » Skywalker's voice came from way behind them.  
_Shiiit !_ Jeb thought. _What else is he capable of ?  
_« Busted. » Talinn said amused.  
Then a growling sound came out of the bushes from Talinn's left side. « Duncan ? Over here. » she said with a shaking voice.  
He was by their side in an instant and peered into the darkness. « Stay here. »  
« Okay boss. » Jeb said as he moved in to check things out. Talinn looked behind her at their comrades who were still asleep and didn't suspect a thing. Maybe that was for the best.  
« Hmm. What have we here ? » Duncan's voice came from the bushes where Talinn had heard the growling. « You're a nice little feline, aren't ya ? There, good as new. »  
Jeb eyed Talinn. _What the hell is he doing ?_ they both wondered.  
He returned with a feline form by his side.  
« What the hell ? » Jeb asked and moved back.  
« It's just a bobcat. Relax Jeb, she's harmless. Her paw was injured and she got scared by our presence here. »  
« Can I pat her ? » Talinn asked with curiosity. This was the first time she saw a bobcat up close.  
« Sure, but give her some time to get to know you. »  
Talinn held out her hand. The bobcat moved closer and sniffed it. Talinn reached a bit farther and stroked the bobcat on the head. She began to pur. « I think she likes it. »  
« She does. » Duncan replied and watched as the bobcat ran off into the darkness.  
« Where'd she run off to ? »  
« She's got a nest to take care of. »  
« Is it gone ? » Jeb asked from behind a rock.  
« Yeah, you can come out now. » Talinn said.  
Jeb took the next watch as Duncan and Talinn went to sleep.

The next morning, John woke the others.  
« Everyone sleep well ? » he asked as the others rubbed their sore backs.  
« Give me a break. » Jeb complained. Duncan came out of the nearby tree. Ringo came back with some rabbits they ate for breakfast. They they set out to find the other dragon, the Sun Dragon.  
« Where will this dragon be located ? » Ringo wanted to know.  
« I have no idea. » Duncan admitted. « We'll have to look for clues again. »  
High in the sky, Shirrah kept an eye out for enemies or anything suspicious.  
« Man, I hope we find these dragons before the station is complete. » Jeb said in a low voice.  
They walked over a grass-covered trail that circumvented a huge boulder. When they had passed the boulder, another matter presented itself. Ahead of them lay a deep chasm, some seven meters wide and no bridge in sight.  
« Hoo-boy. » Jeb said while looking down. « That's a _long_ way down. »  
« We have to get to the other side, I presume ? » John asked matter-of-factly.  
« I guess so. » Talinn said. Skywalker said nothing. He just gave the chasm one of his looks while wondering what the best action should be to get to the other side.  
Finally, he looked up and asked : « Anyone got some rope ? »  
« I got some. » Jeb said and gave him a long rope. It was very long. More than they needed to reach the other side, which was a good thing. It would've been a lot worse if it had been shorter. He tied one end around his waist and gave the other to Talinn. « Hold on to this end for me, would ya ? »  
He took his Daïkatana and before anyone could stop him he ran to the chasm. When he reached the edge, Duncan jumped and sailed through the air to the other side, dropping a bit as gravity began to tug at him and tried to drag him down. Along the way, he had a little help from the wind which blew up. Having reached the other side, he rammed the blade into the rock, turned around while holding on the the sword and waved at the others who were still dazzled by his move. He had made it.  
Duncan climbed up after he had freed his blade and tied the rope to a tree. Talinn did the same on her side. As a precaution, Ringo hung on the rope on his side as a way to test the rope's structural integrity. What if it broke while the others were climbing across ? He would never forgive himself if it happened to Talinn. Again.  
He nodded that everything was okay. Jeb was the first to climb over.  
« Whatever you do, _don't look down !_ » Duncan yelled from his side. Curious as he was, Jeb did just that, looking down which made his hold on to the rope with all his might when he saw the dark space below him. Grip by grip, inch by careful inch Jeb made his way across while he silently prayed the rope wouldn't break. He was relieved when he reached the other side and let out a big sigh.  
John was the next one. He was afraid of heights. They all could see it when he approached the rope : shaky and uncertain. Talinn told him to hold on, not to let go and especially not to look down. John sallowed hard, grabbed the rope and swung his legs around it which made him hang upside-down. Then he began the crossing. He proceeded like Jeb : inch by careful inch and was relieved when he had reached his destination.  
Then it was Talinn's turn. She grabbed the rope in the same fashion like John : hanging upside-down and crawled over. She progressed a lot faster. Ringo warned her not to go too fast or she might fall. But she also reached the other side without incident.  
« I'm gonna untie the rope and swing over ! » Ringo yelled.  
« Okay ! » Dunan answered. « But you're gonna be squash if you hit that rockface at that speed ! »  
« I'll take my chances ! » Ringo replied and untied the rope. He stepped up to the edge, filled his lungs and swung over like a full-fledged Tarzan. Half-way, he aimed his feet at the rockface which was rushing towards him and prevented him from getting a few broken ribs as he reached the rockface. Then, he climbed up the rope.  
« Bold move. » Duncan said as Ringo climbed over the edge. « I'm impressed. »  
« Thanks. I used to do that a lot when I was a kid back in Dyenso Village. Swinging on a rope which was tied to a thick branch of a tree. »  
Duncan untied the rope and gave it back to Jeb, who put it in his backpack he had brought along.  
They resumed their journey to find the one remaining dragon, the Sun Dragon. Along the way, they searched for any clue that might be linked to this dragon. Or statuette in this case. After a few hours, they stopped for a short pause.  
« _Talinn, Ringo, do you guys hear me ?_ »  
« What the hell was that ? » Talinn asked while looking around, trying to spot the one that had spoken.  
« Beats me. » John replied.  
Duncan opened Jeb's backpack and took out a small headset with a built-in comm system. « This is it. »  
Talinn took it and put it on. « Yeah ? »  
« _Hi, everyone, it's me._ »  
« Father ? »  
« _Yes. How are you guys doing back there ? Any progress ?_ »  
« We've found the Earth Dragon. We're searching for the Sun Dragon at the moment. »  
She could hear the villagers cheer in the background as the Chief updated them on their situation.  
« _Keep at it, honey. The sooner you find the dragon, the sooner we can get rid of the Lakoyans._ »  
« Copy that, father. Talinn out. » She switched the comm system to standby but left the headset on for futher updates. « That was father. He wanted to know how we were doing. I updated him on the situation. »  
« Good. » Duncan replied. « Well, let's move. »

* * *

XV

**_Sigma Station  
_**« C'mon, c'mooon. » the technician kept his fingers crossed. The computer was still busy executing the modification he had implemented a few moments ago. _If this works, the commander and Sarge'll be very pleased_ he thought while eyeing the console display. Finally, a green light lit up on his screen.  
« Yesss ! » he cheered. Then he turned to Jennai and Sarge who were discussing.  
« Sir ? » he said as to get their attention.  
Jennai swiveled his chair. « Yes ? »  
« I've given the optical links to the cannon a 25 percent boost. That way we can target objects more precisely. »  
Jennai and Sarge were pleased as he had thought.  
« Good work. But if you want to do such a thing again, ask me or Sarge first. » Jennai warned.  
The technician looked at the deck in shame. « Yessir. Sorry sir. »  
« Don't be so hard on yourself, son. » Sarge said. « I like some initiative every now and then. »  
The technician's face lit up with joy and he went back to his console to keep up the good work.  
Some four hours thereafter, after a shudder ran through the station, Red Alert lights flashed and sirens wailed. Jennai checked the main screen. A short-circuit on one of the lower levels. He swore out loud. This could slow everything down. He hit the comm.  
« What the hell happened down there ? »  
« _We were working on the emergency manual firing controls for the cannon, sir, when the entire thing blew up. We've got some casualties and heavy damage to the firing circuits. The optical links are undamaged. A bigger blast would've destabilized the cannon's energy manifolds._ » a cannon technician reported.  
« Salvage what can be salvaged and begin repairs. Take care of the wounded and get the cannon up and running A.S.A.P. » Jennai ordered.  
« _Yessir._ » came the reply. Then the link was severed.  
Jennai grabbed the armrests of his chair. This would definitely slow everything down.

**_Neron Mountain Range, Neron Continent  
_**« We've been going for hours now and we haven't found anything. » Jeb complained. « Not even a single clue. »  
« Quit complaining, would ya ? » Ringo snapped. « Something'll turn up. »  
It was in the late afternoon. High in the air, Shirrah shrieked.  
« There. See ? I told you something would show up. » Ringo said.  
Skywalker looked up at his winged friend. The bird seemed to be circling over the opening that led to a cave. He ran ahead of the others to check things out and found the clue they were looking for. A craving in the form of a small dragon with a circle around it. It was carved near the ground at the rocky edge of the cave.  
_Bingo_.  
« Over here ! » he shouted. The others were by his side in an instant.  
« All right. Finally. » Jeb said relieved.  
« _Boras to Talinn. Do you copy ?_ » came the Chief's voice out of the small built-in speaker in Talinn's comm system.  
« I hear you. » Talinn answered.  
« _A few men and myself are standing just outside Lakoya City. But we can't get in. Can you ask Duncan to remove the foliage so we can get in ?_ »  
« What are you up to, father ? »  
« _Nothing... Okay, we're just going in to get some of those high-tech weapons of theirs, nothing more._ »  
« To do what ? »  
« _To be able to put up a better defense in case they come back._ »  
Talinn thought it over for a moment, then went to Skywalker and asked if he could do the Chief that favor.  
« Sure. » he replied, cleared his mind and got that distant look in his eyes again. After a few minutes, he looked up. « Done. »  
« _Okay, it cleared out here. Okay men, move in. Thanks a lot, honey._ »  
« No problem. » she replied and signed off.

**_Sigma Station  
_**The repairs on the emergency manual firing controls were going steady, reducing the amount of total damage by half. Even Jennai and Sarge helped along from inside the command center. All things considered, this was Jennai's station and he had come a long way to get it built. He couldn't back off now.  
His assistance' consisted of placing systems on stand-by or rerouting power from other nonessential systems to more crucial systems.  
The Sensor Operator turned away from his console to face his superior. « Sir, a part of the city has just become visible. We've got it on visual feed. »  
« Put it on the main screen. » Jennai ordered.  
The screen came to life and, as the sigma-symbol screensaver was reduced to a small image in the lower right corner, it displayed a section of green in which the gleaming metal of Lakoya City became visible as the green foliage canopy receded. It was a small patch, but big enough to discern details. The command center was visible as well as one of the five reactors and the docking bay from which he had departed when they had evacuated the city to Sigma Station.  
« What the hell is going on down there ? » he mused.  
_Command center, a reactor and the docking bay_ Jennai reasoned in the back of his mind. _Docking bay   
_He suddenly sat up straight in his chair as reality sunk in. « The fighters ! »

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**The Chief and three of the best men the village could miss : Raoul, Alexander and Butch Sharpie'stood before the opening in the green foliage. Sharpie' was his nickname because his aim with an energy weapon was unsurpassed and he had the talents of a sharpshooter.  
The four ran into the city and headed straight for the building that had housed the command center. Or to what was left of it. The reactor building was still largely intact and as for the docking bay, it looked like it hadn't been touched at all.  
They searched the rubble of the command center building. If the Chief's memory was correct, there should be a weapons storage chamber near the command center. After a few minutes of searching, Butch yelled from behind a piece of jagged metal that had originated from a support beam : « Over here ! »  
Butch had found a large, still intact, weapons locker. A corner was bent. Raoul found a metal bar that looked like a crowbar and used it to break open the locker. Inside, they found four high energy weapons and two disruptors.  
They all took an energy rifle and put the other weapons in the backpacks they had brought along.  
« All right. » Butch said happily as he eyed the energy rifle. « Finally something I like. »  
« Don't get too excited, Sharpie'. » Alex warned.  
« Relax man, I'm just enjoying my moment here. So what's next ? »  
« Now we look around for something that might come in handy in our struggle with Jennai and his minions. » the Chief replied.

**_Neron Mountain Range, Neron Continent  
_**Skywalker took the lead with the torch Jeb had made and led them into the cave. The cave was dark like the one they had explored when searching for the Earth Dragon. The only illumination was that of the torch. Ringo had asked why Duncan couldn't let some Lifestream energy coarse through the walls to provide illumination, but Skywalker had replied that if he did that the cave would collapse. The structural integrity of the cave was bad, but not so bad it would cave in on them.  
« So what's the deal here ? » Ringo asked. « Is this another little statue we're gonna find ? »  
« I don't know. I told you before : even I don't know everything. » Duncan replied.  
« Bet you do. » Ringo muttered. Duncan pretended not to have heard that.  
Jeb wanted to intervene but was cut off by a bone-rattling roar. Even Shirrah got a scare. The bird flapped his wings to keep his balance for the roar had taken him by surprise and nearly made him fall off Skywalker's forearm on which he was sitting.  
« What the devil ?? » John stammered.  
« I say it's a real one. » Talinn said and eyed the surroundings.  
« Let's go. Careful. » Ringo warned, drew his sword and took point.  
Fifteen minutes later, they stood before a stone arch that led to an underground city. Everyone looked at the ancient, still intact buildings with amazement and interest. Skywalker as well. He took in every detail, as if recording the image of the ancient city in his mind while turning around in a full circle. That's when he noticed a stone slab set in the arch wall next to him.  
« Look at this. » he walked over to examine it.  
« What does it say ? » Jeb asked.  
« I dunno. » Talinn said. « I can't read it. »  
« I've seen this writing before On an ancient wall. A ruin in the North Regions. This » Duncan said as he tried to remember every shard of the experience. He carefully examined every marking on the slab. « this is Itelogian writing. I'll translate it. It says : _All worshippers of the Dragon, we welcome you with open arms in Dragon City. This is the home of the Sun Dragon. A very powerful Dragon. But if you have come to plunder, turn back or face its rage._' »  
« Nice way to greet people. » Jeb quipped.  
« Itelogians ? » Talinn asked. « I've never heard of them before. »  
« They were an ancient civilization who had mastered the art of taming Dragons. So this is the Lost City of the Dragon. Dragon City. »  
« How much time do we have ? » Talinn asked.  
« One day and then some. » Skywalker replied. « We'd better hurry. »

**_Sigma Station  
_**« Speed up construction. » Jennai ordered. The station was near full completion. He could feel it. It was going to work out. He faced the screen on which the small visible part of Lakoya City could be seen. Four figures roamed around the command center and were making their way to the reactor. He reached for the comm and ordered ten Jennai Soldiers to board the fighters which were located in Sigma Station's docking bay.  
_What are they looking for ?_ Jennai wondered.  
He kept eyeing the screen while the genetically constructed Jennai Soldiers put on their flight suits and helmets and made their way to the fighters docking bay. Once arrived there, the soldiers crawled into their ships and ran through the checklist.  
« _Jennai Wing, you're clear for takeoff._ » echoed through the cockpit of every fighter. The Jennai Wing Commander was the first to take off, followed by the others. Ten sleek, streamlined fighters left the confines of the bay and into orbital space. There, they formed a formation in the shape of a V. After the station was at a safe distance and they had received their orders, which were to eliminate intruders in the city, the JW Commander angled his ship down into the atmosphere. The others followed him in tight formation.

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**The Chief, Alex, Raoul and Sharpie made their way to the reactor. Alex looked around and whistled. « What caused this growth to cover up this entire city ? »  
« Not what, Alex. Who. » the Chief replied. « Skywalker did this. »  
« That weirdo with the long coat ? Give me a break. » Raoul said.  
« I'd carefully choose my words if I were you. He can do things we only can dream of. »  
« Oh yeah ? » Sharpie cut in. « Like what ? » The others murmured Sharpie had a point. What could this newcomer do ?  
« This. » the Chief simply said while spreading his arms.  
Raoul wanted to say something more but what the Chief meant finally sunk in. Someone who had the ability to put nature at his hand had to be capable of a lot of things.  
« Okay. Whatever. Now let s go. » Alex said.  
The four proceeded through the city towards the reactor. The Chief had already seen this. This was the reactor the Lakoyans had modified to process Lifestream energy. Duncan had sabotaged the reactor.  
« Geez, total mayhem. » Sharpie pointed out.  
« This reactor was modified to process Lifestream energy. » the Chief said.  
« Oh yeah, that rumored energy stream that brings life to the planet. That's just a fantasy. » Alex said.  
« Not just a fantasy, Alex. Reality. Talinn told me about it. It exists. This reactor was sucking it up and was converting it into electricity. » the Chief pointed out.  
Meanwhile Raoul was examining the pipes and conduits of the reactor.  
« Hey, these pipes weren't destroyed by an explosion. They were cut. »  
« That was Duncan's work. He wanted to stop the Lifestream energy from being processed so he sabotaged the reactor. »

Meanwhile, high in the atmosphere, the Jennai Wing was heading towards Lakoya City. The turbine engines extended from the streamlined hull after they had cleared the friction of the atmosphere.  
« Switch to battle mode. » the JW Commander ordered. Every pilot pressed some controls. The small barrels of their ship's weapons systems, which had been retracted into the hull, extended. This weapon retraction system was designed in such a way that the weapons barrels wouldn't disturb the ship's streamlined form.  
« Battle mode engaged. » his wingmen replied.  
« Coming up on target. » the Commander reported.  
The sleek fighters angled down, closing in on the city.

« That blade of his has to be really sharp. » Raoul pointed out as he ran his finger along the cut edge of the pipe.  
« Yeah. » the Chief replied. « I think I heard him call it a Daïkatana'. »  
« No way. » Sharpie asked, not believing what he was hearing. « I gotta see this. »  
« Well, you can ask him next time you see him. » the Chief said. But then the whine of engines and the noise of directed energy weapons cut through the air as the Jennai Wing came into weapons range.  
« What the hell ? » Alex demanded.  
« Where in the name of the Dragon did they come from ? » Sharpie wanted to know.  
« Jennai. » the Chief said flatly. « Take cover. »  
The next moment, a ground rumbled with multiple weapons impacts as the four took cover.  
The Chief took his comm headset. « Talinn, Ringo, do you copy ? »  
There was silence that lasted for a lifetime.  
« Talinn, we're under heavy fire here. I think Jennai sent some fighters to eliminate us. Do you hear me ? »  
Still nothing. The only thing he could do was wonder what had happened to the others.

* * *

XVI

**_Dragon City, Neron Mountain Range, Neron Continent  
_**Talinn and the others went into the city to search for the Sun Dragon. All the way, Skywalker looked around with the curiosity of a little kid. The only evidence of the existence of the Itelogians he had seen were some small ruins and some artefacts. But this city was different. This city was intact.  
« Do you know anything more about these people ? » Talinn asked Duncan.  
« They were experts in mathematics and astronomy. The city may look primitive but they were advanced in a certain way. Like the art of taming dragons, their astronomy and mathematics, and so on. » he replied.  
The roar cut through the air again, louder this time, making the walls shake with its force.  
Shirrah didn't get so scared like the first time, but it had taken him by surprise again.  
« We're close. » Duncan pointed out.  
« Tell me about it. » Jeb said shakily.  
The source of the roar seemed to be a large temple at the end of the broad road they were walking on.  
« They must've hollowed out this entire mountain. » Talinn said as she looked up at the ceiling of the ominous cave, shrouded in darkness.  
« Don't ask me how they did it. » was Skywalker's reply.  
The proceeded to the temple building and ascended the stairs.

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**The ten Jennai Wing fighters streaked downward, firing their deadly ray cannons. The Chief and the others dove for cover as the barrage struck a piece of the command center building, tearing one quarter off it. Debris rained down.  
« Okay guys, time to defend ourselves. » the Chief ordered and aligned his energy rifle's sights with a fighter. The others did the same. Four crimson beams shot up towards the attacking wing of enemy fighters. Most of them angled away but two got caught in the four beams counting barrage and were destroyed. The remaining eight fighters regrouped and came back for another round.  
The four instantly opened fire. Sharpie managed to hit the second fighter on the lead fighter's left side in the vertical stabilizer. The fighter smoked but remained on course.  
« Nice shot. » Alex congratulated him.  
« Thanks. » Sharpie replied and fired another shot.  
Alex fired three times at a nearby fighter. Two beams missed, although they came very close. The third one, however, was the charm. It struck the fighter clear in one of its turbine engine exhaust pipes. The aft section of the ship was totally ripped open and what remained of the fighter crashed somewhere in the open fields and exploded.  
« Got one. » Alex cheered.  
« Three down, seven to go. » Raoul commented.

**_Dragon City, Neron mountain Range, Neron Continent  
_**When they reached the top of the stairs, most of the group needed a few minutes to catch their breath.  
« Wow, what a climb. » Jeb remarked.  
« Sure is. » Talinn agreed.  
After they had recovered from the climb, they entered the temple. The inside was being illuminated by glowing crystals. In the walls, markings were engraved. Duncan explained these markings explained the city's history.  
They kept going through the illuminated corridors, taking turn after turn and corridor after corridor. Before they knew it, they found themselves at a large double door. It was covered with jewellery and gold.  
« That's some door. » Ringo said.  
« How do we open it ? » Talinn asked.  
« I dunno. » Jeb replied.  
Meanwhile, Duncan had begun to examine the massive door which was three times bigger than they were. The door was firmly shut, as he expected. There wasn't any doorknob or lever or button, no nothing. Just the door. He pushed against it, but it wouldn't budge.  
« Any luck ? » Talinn asked.  
« No, not yet. » Skywalker replied. Then, he took his Daïkatana and banged the bottom side of the hilt against the symmetrical line where both door halves met. The clang echoed through the air and the door swung open with a wave of foul air.  
« Luck has nothing to do with it. Just the knowledge on how to open a door. »  
Skywalker took the lead, Daïkatana at the ready. The others followed him into the dark space beyond the door. Two beady eyes gleamed in the dark, the glowing crystals came into action and illuminated the room and before they knew it, they found themselves facing a real live dragon.  
« Oh shit. » Jeb said for all of them.

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**Another fighter was transformed into dispersing wave of quantum mist.  
« All right. » Alex cheered. He had switched his energy rifle to full effect and hit the approaching fighter clear in its cokpit canopy.  
« Not bad. » Sharpie complimented and fired a single shot in another fighter's weapons systems. The ship careened out of control and crashed against of what was left of the command center building. « Not bad at all. »  
« Thanks. I do my best. » Alex replied.  
« Hey Butch ! » the Chief called out from his hiding place. « They're coming in from this side ! »  
« On my way. » Sharpie yelled back and hopped out of concealment and ran in a zig-zag pattern to the Chief's hideout. Once arrived there, he aimed his rifle up and started to shoot. The approching fighters broke off their attack to regroup and streak down again.  
The four prepared themselves for another barrage, which followed shortly thereafter. The barrage hit, throwing up dust and debris with its impact. But then, they heard Alex cry out from his hideout.  
The Chief, Butch and Raoul ran to their comrade's hiding place. What they found wasn't good news. Alex's leg was caught under a massive metal pylon which had fallen down when the enemy barrage struck. His leg was undoubtedly broken.  
« All right. Spread out. » the Chief ordered. « We have to protect Alex at all cost. He's vulnerable. »  
He turned to Alex. « Can you fire your weapon ? »  
« I'm not sure. » Alex breathed in pain. « But I can try. »  
« Good lad. » the Chief said and silently wished Skywalker were here to take care of Alex.

**_Dragon City, Neron Mountain Range, Neron Continent  
_**Talinn and the others took cover behind a thick pillar as the dragon spewed a raging fireball. John tried to craw the dragon's attention onto him and lure it away from his companions.   
« Geez, that's hot ! » Jeb cried as he held up his arms for protection. After the dragon had spewed its fireball at the pillar, it came after John who jumped away to distract the creature.  
« You're telling me. » Ringo snapped.  
« Guys ! » Talinn intervened. « Save it for when this is over. Right, Duncan ? Duncan ? »  
She turned and saw him leaning against the pillar with a distant gaze in his cold light blue eyes. What was wrong with him ?  
« Duncan, snap out of it ! » Talinn shook him by the shoulders as the dragon tried to torch them again.  
His eyes cleared and looked around, as if trying to remember what was happening. « The Chief is in trouble in the City. »  
« What ? » they all asked at once.  
« They're having trouble with fighters from Sigma Station. » He got that gaze again as he continued. « A man named Alex is injured. Nothing serious. The others have taken up positions around him for his protection. »  
« They'll manage. » Talinn cut in. « Now we have to get to the Sun Dragon. do you have any idea on how to get past _that_ ? »  
She pointed straight at the dragon which was searching for its prey. Skywalker leaned from behind the pillar to take a look. That's when he noticed the dragon's tail pass through a section of the wall.  
_Ahah.  
_« It's an illusion. »  
« Say what ? » Ringo asked.  
« An illusion. » Skywalker repeated and came out of concealment. He walked straight towards the dragon which, given its height, was still searching. He reached the door the dragon was guarding and opened it. The dragon wavered once and vanished.  
« Yesss. » Jeb cheered. The others came out from behind the pillar and stepped through the open door into the room beyond. What they found was partially good news and partially bad news. The good news was they had found the glowing yellow statuette of the Sun Dragon. The bad news was that it hung suspended over a deep pit.  
« Perhaps I spoke too soon. » Jeb admitted.

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**« How much fighters are still in the air ? » the Chief asked.  
« Roughly, » Raoul replied and fired a shot which missed. « I'd say about five. »  
« Roughly ? About five ? » the Chief remarked as he turned to face Raoul.  
« Hey, it's a rough estimate. I don't know how many there are still left. They keep flying around all the time. I can't get a good count. » Raoul explained.  
« Chief, look out ! » Butch warned. The attacking fighter exploded in a fiery storm of hot metal debris. They all turned towards a grinning Alex whose rifle was still smoking from the discharge.  
« Got him. » Alex grinned.  
« Thanks lad. » the Chief said gratefully.  
« No problem. » Alex grimaced as a jolt of pain raced through his leg.  
« You okay ? » Raoul asked.  
« I'll manage I sure hope the others get here fast. »  
« So do I, man. So do I. »  
Meanwhile, the Chief tried to reach Talinn's group on the comm. Still nothing but static.  
He sighed and ordered to take the two disruptors and told his comrades to defend themselves for what they were worth.

**_Dragon City, Neron Mountain Range, Neron Continent  
_**« Great. » Talinn eyed the hovering statuette. « How do we get it ? »  
« I'm sure someone'll come up with a plan. » John remarked.  
« Why don't you make yourself useful for a change ? » Ringo said, turning to face John.  
« Hey hey hey, look here buster. I was making myself useful. I was busy drawing that dragon's attention so one of you could get to the door. »  
« Shut up. Both of you. » Skywalker suddenly snapped and turned to Talinn. « Do you see what I see ? »  
« What are you ? » she wanted to ask but stopped in midsentence as she saw a ring in the ceiling. « A ring. »  
« Exactly. So we are gonna use some »  
« Rope. » Talinn finished for him.  
« Bingo. »  
« Jeb ! Rope ! » she barked. Jeb took the rope out of his backpack and handed it to Talinn who passed it on to Duncan. Skywalker searched for a small rock to tie the rope to. He found exactly what he was looking for : a small rock, oval shaped of which he would be certain it would pass through the ring. He tied one end of the rope to the rock and threw it towards the ring. The first three attempts missed. But the fourth went through. Duncan let it swing and caught the rock when it was close enough.  
« All right. Who has the least weight ? »  
« That would be me. » Talinn said. Duncan tied the rope around her waist.  
« We'll let you swing. I hope you don't get sick when doing such things ? »  
« Nope. »  
« Good. When you're close enough, grab the statuette. »  
« Got it. »  
The others pulled on the rope and let Talinn swing towards the statuette.  
« A bit more and a bit higher. » she called out.  
The others compensated. Talinn almost could grab it. Just a few more swings. After two swings, she was able to grab it. « I got it ! »  
« Hold on to it. » Duncan called out. They lowered her until she was almost parallell to the ground. Talinn used her feet to give her an extra boost by using the opposite wall. Ringo grabbed her and reeled her in.  
« All right. Now let's get back. » Jeb said as he put the rope away.  
The four ran through the door into Dragon City and out into the cave that led to the outside world.  
Once they left the cave, Talinn received her father's message. She assured him they would try to reach the city as soon as possible.  
« Let's go. » Talinn took point and led the others to the city.


	5. part 5

XVII

**_Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**Two green bolts of energy leapt up and vaporized two fighters. Three left.  
« Keep it up, guys. Talinn and the others are on their way. » the Chief informed his comrades.  
« Tell em to hurry up ! » Butch yelled back.  
« I already did. »  
« Okay then. »  
The three fighters streaked overhead and released some kind of explosive devices. The objects hit the ground and exploded, sending shock waves through the soil and throwing up a lot of dust.  
« Man, I can't see anything through this dust. » Alex said.  
« You still okay ? » the Chief asked Alex.  
« Still hanging on, Chief. »  
« Stay with us. Talinn and the others should reach us within the next hour or so. »  
« Or so ? Or so ?? » Butch complained. « Why don't you admit that you don't know how far they are away. »  
« That's enough, Butch. »  
Alex meanwhile managed to hit another fighter. It got hit in the starboard wing but stayed in the air.  
« No it's not enough. We're on the verge of being destroyed here. »  
« And we will if you keep us distracted ! » the Chief raged.  
The two men kept bickering while Alex and Raoul kept the fighters at bay. Before they knew it a half hour had passed.  
« Look Butch, this is pointless. We have to keep up the defense or those fighters are gonna make toast of us. »  
Butch harrumphed. He had enough of this. « I want this madness to end. »  
« So do I. By finding the Celestial Dragon. Talinn and the others are on their way here with the Sun Dragon and the Earth Dragon. Now all we have to do is keep up the defense and wait until they get here. »  
« I hope your right. » Butch said flatly and targeted the nearest fighter and pulled the trigger. The disruptor bucked in his hands as it fired its charge and hit the target clear in the port turbine engine. The fighter exploded in a cloud of hot metal debris. Butch grinned. With only two fighters left, they should be able to hold out until the others got here.

After a full hour and three kilometers, Jeb stopped and asked out of breath : « How far until we get there ? »  
Talinn replied : « About ten minutes if we hurry. » and ran ahead again. The others followed close behind. Jeb sighed and ran after his friends.  
« I wonder how many fighters they have managed to take out. » Ringo wondered.  
« So do I. » Talinn replied. « In father's last message he said they had taken out about five fighters. »  
« The faster we get there, the faster we can help out. » Skywalker cut in. « So let's get a _move_ on. »  
They picked up the pace and reached the city with minutes to spare.

After they had run through the opening in the foliage, they found the Chief and the others in their hideouts defending themselves.  
« Talinn, thank the Dragon you made it. » the Chief said.  
« It was nothing father. We did it together. »  
Duncan meanwhile examined Alex' leg. « Yep, broken all right. »  
He pressed some nerve bundles and the leg went numb.  
« Hey hey, I lost all feeling. » Alex said, panicking.  
« Relax. I only need to do this to set the leg. » Skywalker gave Alex' leg a twist. Everyone present heard it click in place. Only Talinn made a face at the sound. But Alex didn't show any reaction, because of what Skywalker had done. He had cut off the blood supply and shut down the neural pathways.  
_All that with just two jabs of his fingers ? Come on_ Talinn thought.  
Duncan made a splint, using two small wooden boards.  
« There. »  
« Heads up, here they come again ! » Butch yelled. The Chief, Raoul and Butch aimed their rifles up and fired. The two fighters changed course. One was totally wiped away by a concentrated barrage fired by Butch and Raoul. The other fighter tried to evade the next blast but in doing so, it crashed into the remains of the command center building.  
« We got them ! » Talinn cheered.  
« Let's go home. » Alex suggested.  
« First I have to return the blood flow to normal. » Duncan pointed out.  
« Is this going to hurt ? » Alex asked, nervous.  
« No, not at all. » he replied and pressed the nerve bundles. Only Duncan knew that this was a lie for Alex' own good. If he had told him it would hurt a lot, he would've been so nervous that it would have some nasty side effects.  
Alex cried out in pain as his leg functioned normally again.  
« Why why'd you lie to me ? » Alex breathed.  
« If I had told you it would hurt, you'd be so nervous it would have some consequences. » Duncan explained.  
« Like what ? » Talinn asked as they pulled Alex to his feet and went back to the village.  
« Stiffness severed arteries partial paralyzation you tell me. »  
Alex made a face as they left Lakoya City and went to Dyenso Village.

**_Sigma Station  
_**High above the planet surface in Sigma Station s command center, Sarge stepped up to Jennai. « Sir. We are honored to tell you the station is complete. All systems are on stand-by and ready to be switched to active mode. »  
Jennai grinned and got out of his seat. « Finally. Excellent work. All of you. I hope the Delta Wave generators weren't damaged in that explosion ? »  
« No sir. They're still intact. Nothing has happened to the generators. »  
« Wonderful. Now we'll show those rebels who's boss here. »  
« All the system activation sequences are rerouted to your console, sir. » Sarge informed.  
Jennai walked to his console and saw one red control glow brightly. With only one button the station would be brought to life. Jennai didn't hesitate one second and pressed the control. The entire station hummed as the Delta Wave generators upped their power production and made sure the station had the necessary power it required.  
Outside, one quarter of the elongated section of the station opened like a metal flower with three leaves. From the triangular leaves' metal plates extended, making it look like some kind of sattelite dish. But this wasn't a satellite dish, this was the Sigma Ray cannon. In the middle of the dish a dark opening was visible : the barrel of the cannon. Obeying to an order from the command center, the solar panels directed themselves towards the sun : the only source of power in the solar system and cannon powered itself up.  
In the command center, Jennai kept grinning.  
« What's our first target ? » Sarge asked.  
« Lakoya City. »  
« Sir ? »  
« First, let's make sure those rebels can't get any more stuff out of the city. Target it. »  
« Aye sir. Target acquired. » the Cannon Operator reported.  
« Reroute power to Sigma Cannon. »  
« Rerouting power, aye. »  
Jennai waited till the cannon was ready. After a few seconds it was.  
« Cannon powered up. »   
« Keep it on stand-by. » Jennai ordered.  
The station hummed as the Sigma Cannon was placed on stand-by. Jennai eyed the screen on which the data about the cannon were displayed, still grinning. But the grin faded as the Sensor Operator reported the following : « Sir ? The Jennai Wing has been destroyed. »  
« What !? »  
« We lost contact a few seconds ago. The leader's last message was that the rebels had managed to take out eight fighters. »  
Though he didn't let it show, on the inside, Jennai boiled with rage.  
« Prepare my ship. I'm going down there. I'll let you know when you can take out the village. »   
« As you wish. » Sarge replied.  
The Cannon Operator reported : « Cannon is stable and standing-by. »   
« Good. » Jennai pointed to ten Jennai Soldiers. « You ten. You're coming with me. »  
Without saying a word, the soldiers followed their commander to the docking bay.  
« _You're cleared for takeoff, Commander._ » echoed through the cockpit of Jennai's ship.  
« Acknowledged. »  
Jennai steered his sleek ship out of the docking bay and set course for the planet surface. The ship's hull turned red with friction as it connected with the planet's atmosphere. Once he was through, he set course for a landing site at a relative safe distance from the city. He didn't want to damage his ride out of there once the Sigma Ray had destroyed the city.

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**« That's them ? The Dragons ? » the Chief asked as Duncan showed them the statuettes. Upon their arrival, they had gone straight to the Chief's house.  
« That's them. » Skywalker confirmed. « We only need to find out how to summon the Celestial Dragon. »  
« Summon ? »  
« Yes. My theory is these here are just keys. Keys to something that goes way above our heads. The only question is : how do we use them ? »  
« Good point. » Talinn said. « How ? »  
Duncan gazed out the window of the Chief's house, thinking. As he had said : according to him these statuettes were keys. But keys to what ? A door ? Another dimension ? Another world ? _Unite Sun and earth to find what you seek_ flashed through his mind. They had to unite these statuettes somehow and what came forth would bring the Celestial Dragon.  
« This doesn't make any sense. » John protested. « How are these little things summon the Celestial Dragon ? »  
« It's getting dark. » Duncan said, still gazing out the window. « We'll figure this out tomorrow. »  
« Perhaps you're right. » the Chief agreed. « You keep the statuettes with you. »  
Duncan nodded, took the two dragons and went out to his cabin. The others soon followed and went to their cabins.  
Lying on his bed that night, Duncan Skywalker couldn't sleep. He had tried all sorts of things, such as quieting his mind, meditating, just closing his eyes and expecting that slumber soon would follow Nothing had helped. He was still wide awake. The two dragons stood on the small table in the center of the cabin.  
He sighed, got out of bed and put on his coat. Then, he stepped out into the cool night air. The sky was clear and blazing with millions of stars.  
He leapt up and crawled onto the roof of his cabin and laid down on his back, staring at the starlit sky.  
_One simple question : how ? That's all we need to know. How do we use the two dragons to bring forth the Celestial Dragon ? I wish Charlie were here now. She would know what to do.  
_His thoughts drifted towards his late wife, towards their home near the cliffs in Oregonia. That had been the best time of his life, until that painful event some seven years ago. He took his wooden and played a tune. Maybe that would help to organize his thoughts.  
_Keys to some kind of door ? A portal ? What if it's more than that ? What if we're missing something ? What if it's really obvious and we're not seeing it ? Can these keys' be more than keys ?  
_That somehow seemed to make sense. Could they be more than just keys ?  
_More than just keys One is the Earth Dragon and the other is the Sun Dragon.  
_Then, something else came forth. _Unite sun and earth to find what you seek !  
_It hit him like a sledgehammer. Those two dragons _weren't_ just keys. They were part of something bigger. He stopped playing as the truth about the statuettes was revealed to him.  
_The Sun and Earth Dragon _are_ the Celestial Dragon !_

* * *

XVIII

**_Near Lakoya City, Neron Continent  
_**In the morning, Jennai's ship landed at the predetermined landing site at a safe distance from the city. After the ship touched down, the hatch in the sleek ship's port side opened and Jennai and his soldiers stepped out.  
« Okay men, listen up. Somewhere in the area is the rebel village. We're gonna take em by surprise and crush them. Then we can proceed unhindered. Any questions. »  
The result was as he had expected. Not a single soldier questioned his motives. Which was fine to him.  
« Before we move out, there's a little something I have to take care of. » Jennai took his commlink from his belt and activated it.  
« This is Jennai. Fire Sigma Cannon at Target Lakoya City. Authorisation code Jennai Beta Four Gamma. »  
« _Acknowledged, Commander._ » came Sarge's reply.  
Jennai knew the station by heart. Right about now the stand-by switches would be switched to off so the cannon would be readied. He looked up to see a yellow beam of energy soar downward and hit the city right in the middle. The city exploded in a brilliant burst of light nearly as strong as a solar flare. A shock wave rumbled through the soil.  
« Sigma Station, target destruction confirmed, repeat, target destruction confirmed. Recharge the cannon. » he said into his commlink.  
« _Aye, sir._ » came Sarge's reply. « _Recharging now._ »  
Jennai switched off his commlink and returned it to his belt.  
« Okay men, let's move out. »

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**« All this thinking is giving me a headache ! » Jeb complained. He, ringo and Talinn had come together in the Chief's house to figure out this dragon-situation.  
« What doesn't ? » Ringo said.  
« Hey watch it, you » Jeb protested.  
« ENOUGH ! » the chief cut in. « We're trying to figure this out, not to slaughter each other. »  
Ringo and Jeb eyed each other for a moment and left it at that.  
The Chief turned towards his daughter. « Talinn, have you figured something out ? »  
« No, I'm afraid not. It's too complicated for me. »  
« I found something out. » Duncan said while walking into the Chief's house.  
« Well c'mon, spill it. » Jeb said anxiously.  
« These two dragons are more than keys. » Skywalker began. « They're a part of something bigger. »  
« How big ? » Talinn asked.  
« Brace yourselves for what I'm going to say next. Ready ? »  
They all nodded.  
« These two dragons _are_ the Celestial Dragon. »  
« What ?? » the Chief stammered.  
« It took me some time but I finally realized that the Celestial Dragon somehow has split itself up into these two little dragon statues. »  
« And now we have to find a way to unite them to restore the Celestial Dragon into its former shape, right ? » Jeb asked.  
« That's right. » Talinn confirmed.  
But then, the morning air was illumianted by a bright yellow glow. The sound of a thunderous explosion reached them a few seconds after the light burst as the shock wave rumbled through the village.  
« What was that ? » Talinn asked shakily.  
Skywalker walked to the window, followed by Jeb and Ringo. What they saw was a column of thick black smoke coming from Lakoya City.  
Duncan spoke for all of them. « Sigma Station has just become operational. »

Jennai and his escort of ten Jennai Soldiers made their way through the woods towards the rebel village. Once they arrived there, he told his men to take strategic positions near the entrance to the village.  
He eyed the surrounding area where his men had taken up position. All was ready. He himself was hiding in the bushes not far from the entrance. He turned to face the main gate. « Skywalker ! This is Jennai ! If you surrender without resistance I might be tolerant ! If not, well you know what will happen then, don't you !? »  
The only answer he got from the villagers was : « Fuck you ! » and « Go to hell ! »  
« Fuck. » Jeb cursed. « Jennai's outside the main gate. What do we do ? »  
« Nothing. Yet. » Skywalker said before the Chief could say something.  
« What ?? » Jeb complained. « Man, his butt is out there, ready to be kicked. All we have to do is go out there and do it. »  
« And get slaughtered in the process. » Skywalker added.  
« Duncan has a point, Jeb, face it. » Talinn intervened.  
« Tch. Fine. Don't come complaining we missed our big opportunity to do some major asskicking. »  
« I'm gonna check things out. Lay low. » Duncan said and ran out. Outside, he ran towards a small area of trees within the village boundaries and climbed into the highest tree as fast as possible. Once he reached the highest point, he scanned the area in the vicinity of the main gate. The first one he saw was Jennai who made no effort to hide his face. It looked like he was giving them some time to reconsider. The villagers had made their opinion very clear.  
Near Jennai, he saw three soldiers dressed in their black uniforms. There had to be more. He could feel it. He looked some more and found two more soldiers, one at each side of the gate. Gridlock. They were trapped, unless they confronted the enemy head-on.  
Five soldiers wasn't enough. Jennai was overprotective. He saw three more soldiers down the road who were hiding in the bushes alongside the road. Now those guys did a good job. But not good enough to hide from him. He had counted eight soldiers. That was more like Jennai. But still.  
He closed his eyes and became one with the surrounding forest. _Ahah, three more in the woods, not far from their comrades_. Jennai had brought along ten soldiers. His ship was near Lakoya City which was destroyed by a blast from the Sigma Ray cannon.  
He opened his eyes and climbed back down.

Jennai checked his watch. Ten minutes had gone by and still no answer.  
« Get ready, men. »  
The ten Jennai Soldiers checked their weapons.  
« Well !? » he shouted. « What's it gonna be !? Or do we have to come in there !? »  
Duncan stormed into the Chief's house to update everyone.  
« Jennai is out there with ten soldiers. »  
« Only ten ? » Jeb said with enthusiasm. « Bring em on ! »  
« Those soldiers are they Jennai Soldiers ? » Talinn asked.  
Duncan nodded. Jeb's enthusiasm sunk. « Oh shit. »  
« So what's next ? » Ringo wanted to know. « An all-out assault ? »  
« What ? Are you mad ? » John retorted. « We'll all get killed. »  
« My mentor once said : A good defense is often a good offense'. » Duncan suggested.  
« A very good point. » the Chief remarked. « The only question is : how do we proceed ? »  
They all sat down at the table to plan their next move.  
« How much able-bodied men do you have ? » Skywalker asked.  
« Aside from Jeb and Ringo, I'd say about seven. The rest is still recovering from their injuries which were inflicted by that ray cannon back at the city. » the Chief replied.  
« Make that eight. » Talinn said, head held up high.  
« You ? » her father asked, half-laughing.  
« Yes me. I can fight too. »  
« Don't be ridiculous. You'll get killed. »  
« I didn't get killed when we were searching for the dragons in the mountains. »  
« Almost. » Ringo corrected.  
« Okay, It was a close call. But I'm still alive. »  
« You seem pretty confident. » Duncan observed.  
« I want to kick Jennai's ass as badly as you do. So let's go out there and kick some Jennai Soldier butt. »  
« I'm goin'. » Jeb stormed out, followed by John.  
« Me too. He destroyed the city where my family and myself lived. He has to pay. »  
The Chief finally gave in. « Okay. Be careful out there. We'll hold the fort here at the village. »  
« I'll take out the three soldiers in the woods. » Duncan suggested.  
Talinn nodded and together with Ringo, she followed the others.  
« Face it. She's made up her mind. » Duncan said and stepped outside. « You try to figure out how we have to unite the dragons. »  
« You got it. »

**_Sigma Station  
_**Jennai hailed the station.  
« Go ahead. » Sarge said after contact was made.  
« _Any updates on activity in the village ?_ » Jennai's voice crackled over the open comm circuit.  
Sarge checked the big viewscreen. On it, the data and sharp image of the village was visible. « It seems they're planning some kind of move. »  
« _Keep the next squadron of fighters on stand-by._ » Jennai ordered. « _How's the cannon ?_ »  
« Just finished recharging, sir. »  
« _Good, put it also on stand-by until I give the order to fire._ »  
« Aye sir. Anything else ? »  
Jennai hesitated for a moment. « Not at the moment. Jennai out. »

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Jennai returned the communicator to his belt and eyed the entrance to the village again. What was going on in there ?  
He sighed and was ready to give the order to attack when the gate flew open and some eight villlagers stormed out, armed to the teeth.  
« This is it, men. Let's go ! » Jennai ordered.  
He and his men got to their feet and confronted their opponents.  
From Ringo's throat came a battle cry as he lunged out with his new blade and hit a soldier clear in the leg. Another came at him from behind, but Duncan shouted a warning. Ringo turned swiftly, rammed his blade forward and impaled the attacking soldier.  
« Thanks. »  
« No problem. » Skywalker replied, punched Jennai in the face and disappeared in the shadows.  
The latter was furious. All around him his Jennai Soldiers were fighting with their opponents. « Damn you, Skywalker. »  
All he got as an answer was laughter.  
Meanwhile, Jeb was putting up the fight of his life. He wasn't cut out to be a fighter. He preferred to do his job under wraps. Like the sabotage of the nr 5 reactor back at the city. But he was swift with his short sword. He managed to sidestep a murderous sword blow and lunge out. He missed by a few millimeters. The soldier lunged out again. « Ehh guys, I really could use a hand here ! »  
Jeb tripped over something and fell on his back. The soldier came to stand over him, his sword pointing down at him.  
« Oh, shit. »  
But then, an arrow buried itself in the soldier's back. While the soldier fell to the ground, Jeb looked past him at Talinn, standing a handful of meters away, crossbow still aimed at the unmoving form of the Jennai Soldier.  
« Thanks, I owe you one. »  
« I'll hold you to that when this mess is over. »  
In the meantime, Jennai was still trying to find Duncan Skywalker who had vanished in the many shadowy places this forest had.  
« Where are you !? » he shouted while turning around. « Come out so I can get even with you ! »  
When he got no response, he scanned the battlefield. His soldiers were going down one at a time. Had he made a mistake in their molecular construction ? Or was this just a computer glitch in the final stages of DNA assembly ?  
If he go back to Sigma Station, he would have a hearty word with that labcoat who had worked on the Jennai Soldier project.  
His eyes came to rest on Talinn who took out one of his men with her crossbow. There was the bait to lure Skywalker out of his hideout.  
He took his small laser gun and pointed it at Talinn. Before she knew it, a bolt of red energy hit her crossbow and totally wrecked her weapon. She stared at him with hate-filled eyes as Jennai addressed the surounding forest : « Skywalker, show your face or this lovely person will never see another sunrise ! »  
Then, Ringo appeared in front of his beloved. « You stay away from her. »  
« Ringo, what are you doing ? »  
« Protecting you. » he replied while turning around to face her.  
« But he'll shoot. » she protested. « You'll get killed. »  
He looked deep into her eyes and saw the pain there. « For your protection. So you can live to see another day. »  
Tears came to Talin's eyes. This wasn't like Ringo. « But »  
« No buts. » Ringo said and placed his finger on her lips.  
Then it happened. Jennai fired.  
Ringo prepared himself as Talinn squeezed her eyes shut, ready for what she knew must come.   
But the hard strike never came. Ringo turned and Talinn looked past him. Jennai was also taken aback by what had just happened.  
Between Ringo and Jennai stood Duncan, his arms spread out, standing between the two beloved and Jennai like a living shield.  
Jennai grinned and ran into the woods as Skywalker collapsed to the ground, his shoulder a gaping wound.

* * *

XIX

**_Forest of Neron Continent  
_**Jennai ran through the woods to meet up with the three soldiers he had told to wait there until he returned. But when he got there, the only thing he saw were the unmoving bodies of the soldiers, killed with an uncanny sense of precision. Jennai had no doubt about it that this had been Skywalker's work.  
He cursed, took his communicator and hailed Sigma Station.  
« Sigma Station, this is Jennai. Do you read ? »  
« _Loud and clear, Commander._ » Sarge replied.  
« Order the second Jennai Wing to take off now. Switch the cannon to active mode and target the village. Fire on my command. »  
« _Aye sir The second Jennai Wing just took off. Switching cannon to active now._ »  
« Good. If there's no response from me after a full two hours, fire the cannon, full power. I want that village destroyed no matter what it takes ! »  
« _We'll see to it, Commander. Sigma Station out._ »  
Jennai hoped that this tactic would be successful. Time was running out on him.

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Talinn had bandaged Duncan's shoulder before they moved him to his cabin in the village. Talinn had taken off his coat ans shirt to bandage the wound. The pain had caused him to lose consciousness and he was still out at the time they brought him into his cabin and laid him down on the bed.  
Jeb didn't know that to say. He had witnessed it all. He had suddenly appeared between Jennai and Ringo and Talinn and taken the blast in the shoulder. « He he saved you guys. He sacrificed himself. »  
« He's not dead. » Talinn retorted. « He's just out cold. »  
« Okay okay, take it easy. »  
Ringo placed his hand on her shoulder. « What he did was an act of bravery. Such a gesture is rare. »  
Talinn placed her hand on his. « I know. I wish there was something I we could do. »  
« It's a nasty wound. » the Chief said. « It'll take time to heal. »  
Jeb wanted to say something but stopped when he saw Duncan's hand move. His eyes slowly opened and looked around.  
« Welcome back. » Talinn said. « How do you feel ? »  
Skywalker said nothing he reached with his good arm across his chest and pressed a nerve bundle with two fingers. He squeezed his eyes shut at the sudden surge of pain, then reopened them. « I'll live. »  
« So what's next ? » Jeb asked.  
« You guys take it from here. »  
« What ? » Ringo protested. « What about you ? »  
« Need time to recover Need Lifestream energy nearby. »  
« Where is it ? »  
« Small pool just opened near forest exit to Lakoya City. »  
« We'll get you there. Don't worry. » Talinn replied then turned to her comrades in the room. « Right ? »  
They all replied as one man : « Right ! »  
Skywalker pressed the nerves again and gave in to the pain.

Meanwhile, the ten fighters of the second Jennai Wing surged towards the atmosphere. They had just left the station's docking bay and were heading towards their target coordinates. Their orders were to wreck havoc among the villagers by precisely targeted bombardments.  
The hulls of the sleek fighters turned red-hot as they connected with the atmosphere. When they had passed that point, they proceeded to the target coordinates.

The small procession consisted of Talinn and Ringo, the Chief, Jeb, Raoul, Alex with the aid of two crutches and of course Duncan Skywalker lying on a makeshift stretcher.  
« I hope he'll be all right. » Talinn said sighing.  
« Of course he'll be. » the Chief replied. « Jennai tried to drug him when we were imprisoned in the city. But he managed to resist somehow. Trust me, he'll be fine. »  
« I sure hope so. »  
« What does this pool of Lifestream energy look like ? » Jeb asked.  
« I don't know. » Talinn answered. « I haven't seen it. Yet. »  
« It'll be a terrible blow if he you know. » Alex said.  
« Yeah, for all of us. » Talinn replied. « And for Mother Nature. »  
« Ehh, guys.. ? » Raoul said while pointing to something blue-green not far from the path leaving the forest. « Is that it ? »  
« I think so. » the Chief assumed.  
Talinn knelt beside Duncan. « Duncan, wake up, we're here. I think. »  
Skywalker's eyes fluttered and opened. He lifted his head and scanned the surroundings. « That's it. » he confirmed after he saw the small pool of Lifestream energy.  
« It's beautiful. » Alex said. « Never seen anything like it. »  
They all moved closer to get a better look. Talinn and Ringo helped Duncan to the pool of energy.  
« I'll try to remember as much as possible. And I'll try to keep an eye out. »  
« We'll be putting up the fight of our lives. » Talinn said.  
« Come back soon. » Ringo added.  
« I will. » he replied and just let himself fall into the energy and submerged. The pool in the ground closed before them.  
« We better get back. » the Chief suggested.  
« Okay. » Ringo said. Talinn followed, not knowing if they would see him again. Or when. Shirrah remained near the place where his master had submerged into the Lifestream.  
But their greatest concern now was Jennai and Sigma Station.

**_Inside the Lifestream_**  
Deep inside the Lifestream energy flow, his eyes closed, Duncan Skywalker concentrated on regenerating the wound on his right shoulder. The wound and his shoulder shimmered as the energy reformed and realigned his skin at a molecular level so it would close up perfectly. Not a trace would be visible.  
At the same time in his mind's eye, he saw the others. Talinn and Ringo, Jeb, the Chief, Alex and Raoul. He sensed their pain. They had considered him as one of them due to the help he had supplied them with. Even Ringo who had looked upon him and Talinn with a suspicious eye.  
He also sensed Sigma Station in orbit above them.  
But then something else showed up. Jennai Wing fighters, heading straight for the village.  
_Man, this is bad. Real bad.  
_The station had been switched from stand-by to active.  
_Real bad indeed._

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**The five reached the village and went in. Everyone had heard about Skywalker's heroic action and the consequences it had. All felt the same pain. Nicky, the boy Duncan had rescued when he first arrived here asked the Chief where he was.  
« He's taking care of something for us. Don't worry, Nicky. This'll work out. » the Chief lied. A lie for the boy's own good.  
« Oh, okay. » Nicky ran off.  
Talinn sighed, grateful that Nicky didn't quite understand this whole situation.  
_Talinn_ she heard. What was that ? She turned around, looking for the source. She noticed Skywalker's image solidify behind her.  
« Duncan. Back so soon ? »  
_No. This is only a projection of me. Listen carefully. There are ten fighters on their way towards the village. They should be arriving right about now.  
_Talinn relayed the message. She and the Chief looked up to see ten black specks close in fast and open fire.  
« Take cover ! » the Chief yelled. The villagers ran around, looking for cover. Talinn scanned the surroundings for Duncan's image, but it had already vanished. She heard the Chief yell at Butch to get the weapons they had taken from the weapons locker they had found in Lakoya City.  
The Chief, Butch and Raoul crouched behind their cover and opened fire.  
Dark clouds gathered overhead and the wind howled.  
The fighters clearly had problems in compensating.  
« Father, over there ! » Talinn yelled and pointed due west at a huge tornado which was drawing the fighters towards it.  
Lightning streaked downward and hit a fighter, sending thousands of volts through the craft. Due to the formation in which the were flying, four other ships got a shock as well. Two exploded, while the others were drawn into the tornado where they collided with each other.  
The tornado disappeared and the sky cleared out as the debris of the second Jennai Wing fell to the ground.  
« That saved us a lot of trouble. » Raoul pointed out.  
« Yeah. » Talinn chimed in. « A message to Jennai to let him know he's not out of the picture yet. »

While the others were fighting the second Jennai Wing, Nicky sat in the Chief's house, playing with the two Dragon statuettes. He had no idea what these little things were and what they embodied.  
The fighting outside stopped. He looked out the window to see everyone assess damage done by the fight. He sighed and sat down again to play with his latest toys'.  
He upset the table and accidently let the heads touch. The two statuettes merged into a blinding ball of light and flew out the door.  
« Hey, get back here ! »  
Nicky ran out the door and bumped into Talinn.  
« Hey, where are you going, Nicky ? »  
« Trying to catch my toys. » he said, pointing to the shining ball of pure white energy hovering above the center of the village. Talinn eyed it with interest as did everyone else.  
« Nicky, » she asked. « where are the two little statues that were on the table in my father's house ? »  
« Uhh there. » he replied pointing to the white ball of energy. « The heads touched and became that. »  
« Nicky, you solved it ! »  
« Huh ? »  
« We were searching for a way to unite the statues to summon the Celestial Dragon. And now we did it, thanks to you. »  
« Gee, thanks. »  
Talinn told her father about it. He congratulated him for a job well-done. Nicky felt himself blush.  
The ball of energy began to change shape and resolved into a a white dragon, the Celestial Dragon. It was exactly as Skywalker had seen in his dream-state', composed of small pieces of crystal, giving it the likes of a jewel.  
_Who summoned me ?_ the Dragon asked.  
« We did. » the Chief said. « We've almost defeated the Lakoyans, but they have a space station in orbit that can incinerate anything. We need your help. »  
_You almost defeated the Lakoyans ? Very well, I'll supply some help._

In the forest, Jennai swore as he saw his fighters being destroyed once again. He was running out of options. Except one : Sigma Station. He had ordered his second-in-command to switch the station from stand-by to active. Time to use it. He took his communicator and pressed the activate-control.  
« Sigma Station, this is Jennai. Do you read ? »  
« _Sigma Station here. Go ahead, Commander._ » Sarge answered.  
« Is the cannon still aimed at the rebel village ? »  
« _Affirmative, Commander._ »  
« Good. Blow them away ! Full force ! »  
« _Aye sir._ » Sarge signed off.  
Jennai put the communicator away. Time for the final blow.

**_Sigma Station  
_**« Target acquired. » the Cannon Operator reported.  
« Switch Sigma Cannon to full power. » Sarge ordered.  
« Sigma Ray to full effect, aye. »  
Sarge saw the data on the big screen change as the cannon was given more juice.  
« Full power. » the Cannon Operator announced.  
Sarge narrowed his eyes. « Fire. »  
The station rumbled as the Sigma Cannon released its charge.

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**_Where exactly is this station ?_ the Dragon inquired.  
« Somewhere up there in orbit. » Talinn answered. « We don't exactly know where it is at this moment. »  
Then, everything became quiet. Everyone looked around, trying to determine what was causing this.  
« Heads up ! » Nicky yelled and pointed straight up at a blinding yellow point of light in the afternoon air. « Up there ! »  
The Dragon didn't hesitate a moment. It aimed its head up and fired two blinding white beams from its eyes. Half-way in the atmosphere, the two beams met.  
But the Sigma Ray was a bit more powerful. It steadily pushed the Dragon's beam downward.  
_It's too powerful. I can't hold on for long.  
_« I think that'll be no problem. » Talinn said as on the ground, a ring of blue-green energy became visible around the Dragon's position. Whisps of Lifestream energy rose up and merged with the Dragon's beam, giving it more power.  
The surge pushed the Sigma Ray back towards the station.

* * *

XX

**_Sigma Station  
_**« Sir ? I don't know how to say this, sir. » the Cannon Operator reported.  
« Say what ? » Sarge asked.  
« Something's interfering with the beam. »  
« Interfering ? » Sarge asked and went to the CO's console to look over his shoulder. « What do you mean ? »  
« It seems there is a force at work down there that's blocking the Sigma Ray. And we're already at full power. »  
Sarge took a closer look at the console screen. « Transfer this data to the main screen. »  
The CO did as he was told and put the data on the main screen. It seemed like another energy beam was holding the Sigma Ray at bay and was actually _pushing_ it back. The station rumbled.  
« Give the beam more power. » Sarge ordered.  
« Sir ? »  
« Just do it or we'll be destroyed ! »  
« Aye sir. » Power was transferred from other secondary nonessential systems to the active Sigma Ray. The beam intensified but it had no apparent effect. The other beam closed in, shortening the Sigma Ray. A jolt ran through the deck plates.  
« Set deflectors to full power ! »  
« Deflectors active. » an engineer reported.  
« See you on the other side. » the CO said. The Celestial Dragon's beam, combined with Lifestream energy reached the satellite dish-shaped barrel of the Sigma Cannon. The explosion as enormous.   
The first thing to go was the lower half of the elongated section of the station in which the manual firing controls were located along with the optical links to the cannon and the cannon energy manifolds. Then, the explosion reached around itself and ripped the station apart.

**_Woods near Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Jennai had also seen the beam shoot up and hold the Sigma Ray back. He swore when it reached the station and destroyed it. The rebels were winning. He wondered about what to do next. Should he go out there and do as much damage as he could ? Or should he lay low for a while and then strike ?  
He decided to do the last. Lay low for a couple of days. Then, after a while, he would determine what the best time would be to make his move. If he did the first, he'd get killed before he even could begin to wreck havoc. Logically.  
Laying low was the best thing to do. But the rebels would pay the price for messing with his plans. He went back to his ship to get some rest.

**_Inside the Lifestream  
_**Among the swirling blue-green energies, Duncan's wound was not far from being totally regenerated. Two days had passed. The villagers had gone back to their village. The people who had fled from Lakoya City were building their own villages.   
Assisting the Celestial Dragon in destroying Sigma Station had drained his strength. To save what remained, he had retracted deep within himself. A sort of slumber state. But he kept an eye open to see what was happening on the surface. Jennai had gone back to his ship in which he had arrived with the ten soldiers they had beaten. No doubt planning his next move.  
The Celestial Dragon had disappeared in the woods, heading towards its habitat.

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Every villager helped to repair the damage done by the second Jennai Wing's bombardment. Cabins were repaired, wounds were bandaged and life went its way once again. The threat of Sigma Station and the that of the Jennai Soldiers had been removed. They could live their lives again without constantly looking up to see if there wasn't some destructive energy beam closing in on them or being on stand-by in case a batallion of some twenty soldiers were lying in the grass, ready to attack.   
No, all that was gone. The only real threat was Jennai who had vanished.  
Talinn was busy repairing the gap in Skywalker's coat and shirt when Nicky showed up. Ringo was helping the others with repairs. The bombardment had done some considerable damage.  
« Hey Talinn. Whatcha doin' ? »  
« Fixing Duncan's coat and shirt. »  
« I can see that. Any idea when he'll be back ? »  
« Uhh, actually not. Just have patience, Nicky. He'll show up. »  
« Oh, okay. » Talinn could see that the kid was beginning to get worried. She was worried herself, but she had seen his image. So he had to be okay. It would be a matter of time.  
« Nicky ! » the Chief said. « Just the lad I wanted to see. »  
« Hi Chief. »  
« So, I heard you solved the mystery of uniting the two statues. »  
« Well, it was nothing. Really. » Nicky replied.  
« Modest as well. Applause. » the Chief joked. « Seriously now, because you helped to solve it, I want to give you this. »  
The Chief gave Nicky a small knife.  
« Now you can defend yourself like a real warrior. »  
« Gee, thanks Chief. »  
« Use it well. »   
« I will. » Nicky replied as the Chief went to check on other villagers.  
Talinn winked at him before continuing to fix Duncan's coat and shirt. 

**_Woods near Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Sitting in the pilot seat of his ship, Jennai thought about his strategy. Should he barge in and get trigger-happy ? Or do it more subtle : sneak in and then hold them at gunpoint ? Or use the ship's guns to wipe them away ?  
He decided to do the second. Sneak in and then herd them together like cattle and hold them at gunpoint. Then use that advantage to draw Skywalker out of his hideout. That would do it. Yeah.  
He got out of the pilot seat, went to the ship's weapons locker and took the biggest laser rifle he could find. Then he walked to the hatch, opened it and stepped out.

At some distance from Jennai's ship, a swirling carpet of blue-green opened and Skywalker emerged, his wound fully healed. Though his mind was partially a blank, he remembered what the cause was : helping the people of Dyenso Village stop Jennai.  
A bird landed next to him and looked up. He vaguely remembered something about a little falcon. He searched his memory for any recollection. It came to him bit by bit. All the time, the bird waited patiently. This was Shirrah, the falcon of which he had treated the wing when he had arrived here. Right.  
Next came the recollections of past battles, of his newfound friends, Dyenso Village and its inhabitants and of course Lakoya City, which was destroyed by Sigma Station. From his position within the swirling energies of the planet's Lifestream, he had witnessed the Celestial Dragon's appearance. Nicky had discovered how to unite the little statues.  
But he wondered where his coat, shirt and Daïkatana were. The only things he was wearing were his pants, boots and the piece of string with his wife's ring.  
« Well Shirrah, it seems our friends need my help once again. But first »  
He walked to a small pool and stared down at his reflection. The wound had indeed closed up perfectly. Nothing was visible of the injury, one of the Lifestream's many treats, if used correctly by someone who could.  
A rustling in the bushes got his attention. He whirled around and scanned the surrounding area from where the sound had originated. Someone was walking towards the village as quietly as he could. _No doubt doing a lousy job _Duncan mused as he followed the shadow, keeping enough distance between themselves so he wouldn't get spotted. Shirrah followed high in the air.

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Jennai spied into the village through a slit in the wooden wall. The villagers were unaware of his presence. He had run up to the wall when the guards in the watchtowers shifted and hid in the bushes. _Fools ! If you only knew how close you are to dying_ he thought.  
It was some kind of market day. Jennai watched as the villagers went about the central plaza to see what their neighbors had in store for the other villagers. Even the Chief and his daughter were there. _Man, this'll be a breeze. Skywalker has disappeared, they're practically asking for it_. Jennai rubbed his hands, took his laser rifle and crawled towards the twin wooden doors that led into the village.  
He stepped back and fired two shots at the watchtowers. Before the guards could react, the towers collapsed. The guards jumped out right before the towers crashed onto the ground with a lot of noise. Jennai stepped into the village, fired a shot in the air and addressed the villagers.  
« Nobody move ! I'm in charge now ! If anyone tries to get to a weapon, he'll pay with his life ! » he yelled. Jennai looked around his eyes came to rest on the guards who were still woozy from the crash. He took their weapons, tossed them in a far corner and told them to join the others. « Now, if you all would be so kind as to disarm yourselves »  
The villagers tossed their weapons onto a pile between themselves and Jennai. Even Ringo, who internally was boiling with rage. He had an arm wrapped around Talinn, keeping her close.

Duncan reached the village just as Jennai walked in. The watchtowers were totally wrecked, the gates wide open. He inched his way in and poked his head around the corner where the hinges of one of the double doors had been.  
From what he saw, Jennai was keeping them hostage. And he had one hell of a laser rifle. But the advantage was that Jennai was alone. That would cost him.  
He scanned the central plaza where they all sat together. All accounted for. _No, wait. That's not right_ he said to himself. _Nicky ! Where's Nicky ?_

Nicky looked around the corner at Jennai who was grinning. What to do next ? In his hand, he held the knife the Chief had given him as a reward for solving the mystery of uniting the two statuettes. He stepped back as Jennai turned his head in his general direction. Had he seen him ? Nicky slowly looked around the corner again. No, he hadn't seen him. What a relief. He left his position and ran as quietly as possible to another, more inconspicuous location. A hideout from where Jennai wouldn't be likely to spot him.  
He ran in a wide arc around the plaza, using the houses and cabins as cover and reached his new hideout. From there he had a better view of the situation. And of the entrance, where he saw a familiar face assess the same situation.

Talinn and Ringo sat together on the hard ground. Most of the villagers were terrified but Ringo, the Chief, Jeb and herself kept their heads cool and didn't freak out.  
« Why are you doing this ? » she asked. « You're losing it, Jennai. Your army is gone, Lakoya City and your Sigma Station. »  
All Jennai did was laugh. « No no, my dear. » he replied. « I still have one trump card left. » Then his face hardened. « You people. To lure Skywalker out of hiding so I can finish him off. »  
« He'll finish you off when he gets here. » Jeb snapped.  
« _If_ he gets here. » Jennai corrected. « Perhaps he has gotten the idea that your quest is pointless and you cannot win against me. » He laughed.  
Talinn looked around. No escape route. Jennai had them right where he wanted them. She looked around once more and saw Nicky, trying to get her attention.  
When he saw he had gotten her attention, he pointed at the front gates. She turned her head and was surprised to see Duncan's face. She turned back without attracting Jennai's suspicion and gave Nicky the thumbs-up signal and a motion of her hand to stay put no matter what happened. Nicky nodded and stayed hidden.  
Talinn turned back to look at the entrance. Duncan had meanwhile seen that she now knew he was here. He mouthed only a few words : _Keep him busy. I'm coming in'.  
_Talinn nodded, the plan ready to be executed.

* * *

XXI

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**Skywalker ran to the nearest cabin while Jennai had his back turned towards him. It was getting chilly, evening was setting in. But Duncan didn't feel it, because in the past, he had learned to withstand the harsh cold of the North Pole.   
He ran to another cabin. From there to another. The last he arrived at was Talinn's. There, he found his coat and shirt. He went in and put them on.  
_Much better. Looks like Talinn is good with needle and thread too_ he thought as he inspected her work. The gap the laser beam had made was gone. _Real good_ he corrected himself.  
He went back to the door and peeked around the corner. Jennai was still keeping an eye on his hostages. He looked around Talinn's cabin for his Daïkatana but didn't find it. Where could it be ? No matter. He could defend himself even if he was unarmed.  
He crossed the area behind Jennai as silently as a ghost. Along the way, he held his finger on his lips as a silent demand for not wanting to draw attention onto him. He reached the other side and vanished behind a cabin just as Jennai turned towards the path where Duncan just had passed him by.  
Jennai frowned.  
« Probably rats. » Jeb said.  
« Shut up. » Jennai snapped.

Nicky was tired of having nothing to do and to lay low. But what could he do. He was just a kid. Kids were meant to play in the fields, not to wage a little guerilla war. But he and Skywalker were the only wild cards in the deck. The only chance the others had left.  
He crawled forward to look past the corner of the cabin he was hiding behind. That's when he saw Jennai heading towards his location. Crap. _What would Duncan do ?_ he asked himself. _Hide_ flashed through his mind. He crawled back and searched frantically for a hiding place.   
There was a small opening between the cabin and the wall that surrounded the village. Nicky crawled towards it and hid just as Jennai passed. He looked around the dimly lit space, saw nothing and moved on.  
Only when Jennai had moved a few meters away did Nicky crawl out of the opening and sighed silently. Close call. If he hadn't checked, Jennai would've busted him, diminishing the villagers' chances.

Talinn turned to her father. He hadn't seen Skywalker cross the space behind Jennai a moment ago. Well, it was time the others knew.  
« Duncan is here. » she said in a whisper. Her father was astounded.  
« He's here ? Now ? »  
His daughter nodded. « Yes he is. »  
« He survived. »  
« Yes. And Nicky isn't among the hostages. » Talinn pointed out.  
« Now the boy knows what it feels to fight a real enemy instead of playing war. »  
« If it doesn't kill him. » Talinn protested.  
« Yes. » her father acknowledged. « If. So what's next ? »  
« We keep Jennai busy. »  
« What ? » her father asked bewildered. Talinn began to whistle a local song. The others soon followed as the Chief passed the message about Skywalker's presence. The message was relayed from one ear to another. Within the next minute everyone knew, but kept it to themselves at the Chief's request. If Jennai found out before Duncan decided to come out, the element of surprise would be gone and Jennai would be on guard and searching for his prey.  
« Knock it off. » Jennai snapped. The whistling stopped. To be replaced by humming.  
« If anyone wants to die, let him speak now ! » Jennai snarled, enraged.  
Everyone shut up.  
« Thought as much. » Jennai said.

Duncan peeked around the corner at the hostages. Jennai was still walking around them, keeping them from doing anything but wonder about what lay ahead of them.  
The evening twilight deepened. He scanned the central plaza again. Someone else wouldn't have noticed it but Skywalker's trained eye saw it. Something moved at the rear of the plaza. He sneaked towards the place while using the cabins as a shield.  
He arrived at the place where he saw the movement a few minutes later. It was Nicky. He sneaked up to him from behind, grabbed the boy and put his hand over the kid's mouth to keep him from screaming.  
« It's me. » he hissed. The boy stopped struggling. Duncan released him.  
« Good to see you. It's about time you showed up. »  
« I came as fast as I could, okay. »  
« So, are we gonna get even with Jennai ? » the boy asked.  
« _I'm_ going to get even with Jennai. » Duncan countered. « You stay out of harm's way. »  
The boy wanted to protest but kept his mouth shut as Duncan held up his hand, indicating he didn't want to argue. Then, he saw the knife on the boy's belt.  
« Say, are you handy with that knife ? »  
« I can throw it right in the bullseye from a few meters distance. » Nicky replied proudly. « I practiced frequently with shards of metal. »  
Duncan scratched his chin. A plan was beginning to form in the back of his mind. The boy saw it.  
« You're planning something aren't you ? »  
« Yes, I am. » he confirmed. « Just working out some details. »  
Nicky waited impatiently to know what that plan would be and if he would be in it.  
« Okay, » Skywalker finally said and picked up a small shard of metal. « when I give the sign, you throw this piece of metal right into the circuitry of Jennai's weapon. Then, you lay low while I confront Jennai. If Jennai sees you, run like hell for the main gates. »  
« Yeah, finally something to do. » the boy cheered.  
« Ssshh, keep it down. »  
« Sorry, just excited that I finally can do something. »  
« Good. Hold on to it. We execute the plan tomorrow. »  
They found themselves a place to sleep as night descended over the village.

The next day, most of the hostages were as bored as ever. Jeb and Raoul were playing a game of heads or tails', while the others wondered what their fate would be.  
« Heads. » Jeb said as Raoul tossed the coin up.  
« Tails. »  
It landed between the two friends. But neither saw what the outcome was, for Jennai vaporized the coin with only one shot from his laser rifle.  
« I said, » Jennai raged. « knock it off. »  
« Partycrasher. » Raoul muttered as Jennai was out of hearing range.  
« I'll say. » Jeb amended. « Sore loser. »  
« Keep quiet you two. » Talinn hissed. « You'll get us all shot. »  
« Great, just what we needed. » Raoul threw his hands up. « Another partycrasher. »  
« Talinn is right, guys. » the Chief said. « Pipe down. »  
Raoul was cut off from saying something when Talinn spotted movement not far from Jennai.  
Nicky.

Nicky was seriously nervous. What if he missed. What if he hit someone else instead of the gun he was aiming for ?  
He told himself he was overreacting and should remain calm. Easier said than done. The boy was shaking like a reed.  
He looked around the corner at Jennai coming closer. A bit further he saw Skywalker, assessing the situation. Nicky wondered how he could remain so calm, so detached.  
Jennai came closer. Duncan gave the signal.  
Time for action.

Unaware of his presence, Jennai passed nicky's spot by mere meters. He kept his eyes locked on the hostages so they couldn't make a move against him. A victorious grin was locked on his features. But then that grin changed into a display of amazement as an unseemingly small piece of metal drilled itself into the firing circuitry of his laser rifle. The gun shorted out in a spray of sparks. Jennai tossed it aside in a display of untamed rage. Who did this ? Who was responsible for this ?  
He looked around and saw a boy crouched near a corner of a nearby cabin.  
« Why you little brat ! »  
Nicky ran as fast as his legs allowed for the main gates while Duncan came out of hiding and stepped into view behind Jennai.  
« Hey Jennai ! » Skywalker called. « Why don't you pick on someone of your own size ! »  
Jennai froze. _Skywalker ? Alive ?_ How could this be ?  
He slowly turned, the boy forgotten. He stared at Duncan.  
« What ? » the latter responded. « Lost your tongue ? »  
« You've got some nerve. » Jennai raged. Duncan knew that his adversary was on the brink of emotional overload and thus, extremely dangerous. While being in such an enraged state, he could injure innocent bystanders. That's why Duncan had ordered Nicky to run for the main gates. To lure him away from the others so they wouldn't get hurt.  
The two advanced on each other, ready for what was coming next. A fight to the death.  
Skywalker assumed a commonly used defense position taught to him by the Shaolins who he had arrived at in his first travels. Jennai lunged out with his fist, but Duncan blocked it and drove his own in Jennai's face. He stumbled back, rubbing his bleeding nose.  
« Ouch ! » he raged. Then he came at Duncan again. Skywalker was ready for him. At least, that was what he thought.  
Jennai dropped to the ground, grabbed a handful of sand and threw it in his opponent's face. Duncan staggered back while trying to get the sand out of his eyes. Jennai made use of this momentary lapse of defense and drove both his fists in Skywalker's midsection, doubling him over.  
Jennai continued to punch on his opponent, even when he was down.  
_Go for the vital areas if you're in a bad position_ Duncan remembered.  
The sand cleared from his sight. He lunged out for Jennai's legs with a well-aimed kick. Jennai fell to the ground, screaming as if possessed and cradled his left knee. Duncan had hit him clear on the kneecap, which had sent a searing jolt of pain through Jennai's nervous system.  
Duncan got up and walked to the hostages.  
« Everyone all right ? »  
They all nodded.  
Talinn shouted « Look out ! », but it was a bit too late.   
Jennai grabbed Duncan from behind and tried to get him in an armlock.  
What else followed, the villagers didn't see because a dust cloud enveloped both combatants.  
Then it evaporated, revealing Jennai going for a sword lying nearby.  
Duncan had no way out. Sure, Talinn knew, he could defend himself unarmed. But from an armed madman ?  
Jennai grabbed the sword's handle.  
Talinn saw Nicky slide his knife towards Duncan. The latter reached down and picked it up.  
« Revenge is mine ! » Jennai wailed as he turned, sword in hand. But as Jennai turned towards him, ready to attack, Duncan threw the knife. It hurtled through the air. Seconds seemed like minutes, stretching into infinity as the knife sailed towards its destination.  
Then, time seemed to snap back into place as the weapon drilled itself in Jennai's chest, straight through his heart.  
Jennai fell to his knees, a look of awe and defeat on his face.  
« Ever heard of the phrase Life's a bitch and then you die' ? » Duncan said as Jennai fell to the ground.  
The Chief rushed over. « Straight through the heart. He's dead. »  
« The result of years of training. » Duncan said flatly.  
« I guess revenge isn't his. » Talinn said as she joined Skywalker and her father.  
« Sure as hell isn't. » he conceded. « Or we'd be in a situation a lot worse than we just experienced. »  
« But you have to admit, Jennai was a genius in a certain way. » Duncan said. They all stared at him as if he just had gone crazy.  
« Say what ? » Jeb asked. He had also heard it.  
« Jennai was in a rare mental place. » Duncan explained. When he saw the others gape at him with an nonunderstanding look, he added : « A place where genius and madness go hand in hand. »  
« What do you say we clean this mess up ? » the Chief suggested.   
Nicky joined them.  
« Nice throw. » Duncan complimented.  
« I was nervous like hell. » the boy admitted.  
« So was I. But you saw a way out and came to the rescue by sliding your knife to me. »  
The boy smiled, retrieved his knife and joined the others and went to work.

* * *

XXII

**_Dyenso Village, Neron Continent  
_**With Jennai gone, the villagers could go about their daily tasks and not wondering if he would strike again. Jennai's body had been placed in his ship and was programmed to explode when it was at 200,000 kilometers from the planet. They all had followed the rising ship with their eyes until it disappeared in the early light of dawn of the day that had followed. Roland had aligned his telescope with the coordinates Duncan had given him. After Jennai's ship had disappeared from view, he had seen Jennai's ship explode in a fiery fireball at those coordinates. The only things left were a handful of dispersing shards of debris and an expanding whisp of atmosphere, immediately supercooled by the cold of interplanetary space.  
« That's the end of Jennai. » Skywalker had said.  
« No more pain in the butt. » Jeb had joked. Everyone had doubled over, laughing.  
But Duncan didn't share their optimism. There was still work to be done, for the Sigma Ray had blasted a big hole in the ground where Lakoya City had been. That station had been a bigger problem than the cannon at the top of the city. This cannon had been more powerful than the Ki Ray Cannon. But that wasn't something he needn't to worry about too. The Sigma Station had been destroyed by a blast from the Celestial Dragon along with a powerful burst of Lifestream energy. This had caused the station's cannon to short out, caused by an overload in the firing controls in the elongated section. And the rest was just following the laws of physics.  
He went out of the village and headed to the former location of Lakoya City. What he found was a big crater, still smoking from a residual static charge that was still coarsing through the soil.  
While he was eyeing the crater, the Dragon appeared next to him, towering over him.  
_This is terrible_ the Dragon said.  
« Yes, it is. » Duncan conceded. « But not lost. »  
_What do you mean ?  
_« Observe. » Duncan said. He sat down on the ground, cross-legged, crossed his arms in front of his chest and closed his eyes. The ground began to rumble. The Dragon turned its head to look at the crater which was closing up. Among the sliding soil, whisps of blue-green were visible.  
The Dragon turned its head back to a concentrating Skywalker, realizing that this wasn't an ordinary human. This one was gifted by Mother Nature herself.  
The Dragon turned back to the now almost closed crater. As it closed up, the rumbling ceased. But Skywalker wasn't ready yet. He kept at it and soon the balance of nature was restored. He opened his eyes an got up.  
_Remarkable_ the Dragon observed. _Remarkable and scary at te same time_.  
« I know. » Duncan admitted. « Sometimes I even scare myself. »  
_I know the feeling. I sometimes get that kind of feeling too.  
_« Well, your habitat is back as it should be. »  
_And I thank you and the villagers for all the risks you took and dangers you faced. To do such a thing has proven that you and the villagers have a great heart.  
_The Dragon disappeared into the woods where at various places, other villages began to appear. But Skywalker had warned them not to turn it into a city. All had agreed. They all had seen what a city could bring along with itself.  
Though he didn't show, inwardly Duncan Skywalker smiled.  
He turned and went back to the village.

When he returned in the village, he ran into Ringo. Ringo took him aside for a moment.  
« Look, I ehh wanted to apologize for my behavior. I believe I »  
« Was jealous. » Duncan finished for him.  
« Yeah, I guess so. I kinda got jealous when I saw you and Talinn whispering together. I meant no offense. »  
« None taken. I understand how you feel. It's a natural reaction. »  
« If you say so. » Ringo said. « Man, you really scared the hell out of me when you slashed my previous sword. »  
« Hey, don't come saying I didn't warn you. »  
« Yeah, so you did. But I was too caught up in my jealousy and well, we all know the rest. »  
« Yep. » Duncan changed the subject. « So when's the wedding ? »  
Ringo was astounded. « How do you know about that ? »  
Duncan tapped one ear. « People talk and I keep my ears open. »  
« If I get my hands on the one who squealed Nah, forget it. It's tomorrow. »  
« Am I invited ? » Duncan asked.  
« Of course. »  
« Great. I wouldn't want to miss it. » Duncan replied. « By the way, have you seen my Daïkatana ? »  
« Uhh, I believe I saw it at the blacksmith. »  
Duncan thanked Ringo and went to the blacksmith where he found his sword.  
_Now how in the world could I've not seen it ? It was standing here in plain sight. Oh well, Jennai got what he deserved.  
_Evening set in as Duncan tucked the blade away and went to his cabin.

As the twilight deepened, Duncan Skywalker lay on his back on the roof, staring up at the stars and the moon.  
Talinn leapt up the roof. « Hey. Mind if I join you ? »  
« Not at all. »  
« What were you and Ringo talking about a few hours ago ? »  
« He apologized to me. »  
« He ? Ringo ? Apologize ? To you ? » she asked, not believing him.  
Duncan turned his head towards Talinn. « He did. »  
« Now I've heard everything. »  
« I heard your wedding is tomorrow. »  
« Yeah, I know. I'm so nervous. »  
« Don't be. » Duncan said while gazing up. « Once you start the wedding the nervousness will fade away like that. » He snapped his fingers.  
Talinn didn't ask how he knew. She knew he had experienced it some years ago when he married his late wife.  
« I'll keep that in mind. » she said and looked up. « Nice night. »  
« Yeah. »  
« Tell me something why do you always stare up at the stars at night ? »  
He pointed up at the Gemini constellation. « See that constellation over there ? That's Gemini. »  
« Yeah, I see it. »  
« The two brightest stars are our stars. The left one is Charlene's the right one is mine. »  
« Did you two »  
« Yeah, we always looked up at our stars during clear nights. It gave us the feeling we were connected. »  
« And you honor her memory by still doing this ? »  
« It's the only way for me to remember her. » He sighed and closed his eyes. « Well, not the only one There are other ways. »  
« Duncan ? »  
He opened his eyes. « What ? »  
« Will you come to my wedding tomorrow ? »  
« Sure. Ringo invited me. »  
« And I thought I had heard everything. » she said laughing. « Well, I'm going to bed. To make sure I'm not half asleep when this entire charade starts. »  
At this, Duncan reacted vehemently. « It's not a charade. It's a special occasion. »  
She saw in his ice cold eyes that he meant it. « Okay okay, take it easy. G'night. »  
« Night. » he replied as Talinn leapt off the roof.  
Three hours later, he went to sleep in his cabin.

The next day, Duncan stood beside the Chief. When he saw Talinn and Ringo standing before the Chief who was performing the ceremony, he saw himself and Charlene standing before the altar back in Oregonia. Both of them were nervous like hell but as he had said to Talinn, it would fade when the ceremony started.  
When they were married, they were so happy. The two of the had built their house single-handedly, with no link to Oregonia's power grid. Everything was acquired through natural means. Power through a windmill and a cartwheel in a nearby river. They grew their crops themselves.  
But that was seven years ago. Now, all that remained of his life was chaos. Ununtanglable chaos.  
« If anyone objects to the union of these two people, let him speak now or forever shut up. » the Chief said. He always had a way to turn serious events into something more humorous. Just like he had done now. Everyone laughed silently or tried to keep it to themselves. But it had the desired effect.  
« No one ? » he asked. « Good. If someone would've objected he wouldn't live to tell about it. »  
That doubled everyone over. Except Skywalker. He merely smiled. Maybe Talinn was right after all. Maybe the Chief was turning this into a charade.  
« Well then. The rings, Nicky. »  
The bot searched his pockets frantically. « Uh-oh. »  
« Why don't I like the sound of that ? » the Chief asked. Talinn and Ringo gave each other a look. Was this another of the Chief's jokes ?  
« What do you mean with uh-oh' ? » Duncan asked.  
« I think no one asked me anything about two rings. »  
« Great. » the Chief complained. « No wedding without rings. »  
« Wait a minute. I'll be right back. » Duncan said and ran out of the Chief's house.  
The village incorporated a section of the mountains within its boundaries. It was there Skywalker ran to. He dug his sword deep into the rockface and made a hole. His guess had been correct. There was silver in these mountains. A large chunk fell out of the hole. It was almost pure silver. He separated the chunk into two pieces and called some Lifestream energy to the surface. He held the two pieces into the energy and began to reform them into two rings. When it was almost done, he reached into one of his pockets and took out two jade gemstones. He placed them on top of the rings and cooled them off in a nearby stream. Then, he ran back to the others.  
« Sorry for the delay. »  
« That's okay. » the Chief replied. « So, whatcha got ? »  
Duncan showed them the two rings. Talinn's eyes widened.  
« They're beautiful. How » She stopped as he held up his hand.  
« Sorry. Professional secret. »  
The two loved ones put a ring on the other's ring finger to complete the wedding ceremony. Then, the two of them kissed.  
« Husband and wife. » the Chief sighed. « I'm gonna miss my little girl. »  
In a flashback, Skywalker saw himself and Charlene storm out of church after the wedding, shielding themselves from the rain of rice that rained down.  
« Yeah. » Duncan replied. « But don't worry. She'll come back. »  
« After the honeymoon, that is. »  
« Right. » Duncan said as the two newlyweds stepped out into the open air. « After the honeymoon. »

Duncan Skywalker stayed another two days in Dyenso Village. But the tug of the distant horizon began to weave its magic once again.  
So he began to pack his belongings.  
« You're leaving ? » Talinn asked from just outside the door.  
« Unfortunately yes. » He turned to face her. « My job here is done. »  
« Your job' ? You see this as merely a job ? »  
« We all have our ways of naming things. »  
« Okay then. I'm gonna miss you. »  
Duncan eyed the surroundings. « I'll miss ths place too. Deep within the forest. Pure. No outside influences. No interference from modern technology well, for a commset and a high energy weapon here and there I guess that can't hurt. »  
He gave her a smile.  
« Where will you be heading ? » she asked.  
« I don't know. I guess where Mother Nature wants me to go. But I'm thinking about going back home. Perhaps one more adventure and then I'll call it a day. »  
« You ever heard of Balamb Garden on Balamb Island ? »  
« No well, I vaguely heard about it. Rumor has it there are mercenaries there. »  
« There are. Some sort of mercenary unit called SeeD' or something. » Talinn explained.  
« Maybe I'll head for Balamb Island then. »  
The Chief came in. « I heard you're going ? »  
« That's right, Chief. » Duncan said as he finished packing. « I'm heading out again. »  
« As token of my appreciation, I want to give you these. » the Chief gave him two daggers. They were about the same design as his sword.  
« Chief, I can't accept that. »  
« Please, I insist. »  
« Okay then. » he said and took the two daggers and slid them into the outside slits of his boots, one for each boot. « Hm, perfect fit. »  
« I hope they will be of use to you. »  
« They will, Chief. They will. »  
When Skywalker headed out of the cabin, he ran into Nicky.  
« Do you really have to go ? »  
« I'm afraid so. » he replied while lowering himself on one knee to speak with the boy at eye-level.  
He saw the disappointed look in his eyes. « Hey, you know what ? »  
« What ? »  
« When these two are on their honeymoon, » he pointed to Talinn and Ringo. « who do you think will be the next big guy in town ? »  
« The Chief ? »  
« No silly. You ! »  
« Me ? »  
« Yeah. You know how to take care of yourself and others. There are a whole bunch of things I can come up with. »  
« Yeah ! All right ! » the boy cheered.  
« But I can't stay, Nicky. I have my own life. »  
« Okay, I understand. »  
« Hey, don't be so down. I'll never forget this place. And the experiences and the friends. »  
Skywalker got up and said goodbye to all the villagers. Then he turned and went out of the village into the forest. He would be missed. But the people could live their lives once again.  
Shirrah followed his master on the remainder of his journey.

* * *

Epilogue

**_Woods of Neron Continent  
_**Duncan Skywalker resumed his journey at the point where he had diverted his course to Dyenso Villlage. The villagers would be happy once again. No more Jennai or Lakoya City or Sigma Station to worry about. With his help, they had defeated him once and for all.  
He wondered about what Talinn had said about seeing this as a mere job. Had this become a job ? Skywalker actually found no answer. Maybe it was a job, but a temporary one. When he got home, he'd settle down and live the remainder of his life there.  
A shriek tore through his thoughts. He looked up to see Shirrah soar down and land on his arm.  
« And what about you ? Are you going to stay here or accompany me ? I'm not forcing you to join me, you know. »  
The bird blinked a few times, as if thinking.  
« The choice is yours. »  
Shirrah began to arrange his plumage.  
« I take it you're coming along. »  
Shirrah stared up at his master, looking deep into his eyes.  
« Great, then I have someone to talk to. » he said and resumed his journey. He looked back one more time at the villagers who were waving. He waved back and disappeared through the bushes.  
After a while, they came at a fork in the path. One went to a harbor town, the other in a long trek back to Oregonia, back home.  
« What path should we take ? » he asked. « The one to the harbor town and check out this Balamb Island or take the other and go home ? »  
Shirrah hopped onto the ground and took the path to the harbor town.  
« That one ? Oh well, why not. »  
He let his winged friend hop onto his arm and took the path that led to the harbor town.  
After a day and a half, he arrived at the town.  
There, he got a boat and set course for Balamb Island.  
_Are those mercenaries, these SeeD', dangerous or have they benign intentions ? And this Balamb Garden Talinn said it's a fine piece of architecture, but I'll know it when I see it. I'd better watch my back when dealing with those SeeDs'.  
_He gazed over the wide ocean.  
_One more adventure_ he thought. _One more and then I'm going home._ That's what he'd do.  
He permitted himself a smile as the small sailing ship ploughed through the cerulean waves of the ocean and took them to their destination.

* * *


End file.
